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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


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STATE  NOK-IAL  SCHOOL 

(JOB  AUGSLSS,  CAUaVBMUk. 


UMVERSITY  of  CALIFORNT; 

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LOS  z\NGELES 
LIBRARY 


7 


'firaduate  S^'^ol  of  Business  Admlnlstpatloll 

''  ■'Ri-'-y  of  California 

Los  ^xgeles  24,  California 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/advertisingitsprOOstariala 


o-"'- 


ADVERTISING 


Its  Principles,  Practice,  and  Technique 


BY 


DANIEL  STARCH,  Ph.D. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


SCOTT,  FORESMAN  AND  COMPANY 
CHICAGO  NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  1914 

BY 
SCOTT,  FOBESMAN  AND  COMPANY 


^"s  AdmlB. 
■LJorary 


SI  ^  - 

PREFACE 

In  this  book,  I  have  tried,  to  the  best  of  ray  judgment,  to 
analyze  and  to  put  together  in  systematic  form  the  available 
facts  and  elementary  principles  of  advertising.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  book  may  serve  as  a  first  textbook  for  students  and 
as  an  introductory  handbook  for  business  men.  I  have 
tried,  therefore,  to  combine  the  practical  and  the  theoretical 
aspects  of  the  subject  in  such  a  way  that  the  practical  expe- 
riences of  business  houses,  which  are  quoted  at  length,  may 
illustrate  the  underlying  principles,  and  that  the  discussion 
of  principles  may  illuminate  the  practical  results  of  business. 

Problems  of  advertising  policies  and  plans,  and  problems 
in  the  technique  and  construction  of  advertisements,  are  given 
at  the  end  of  the  various  chapters.  These  will  increase  the 
usefulness  of  the  book  as  a  text. 

This  book  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  final  treatise  on  the 
subject.  The  last  word  in  advertising  has  by  no  means  been 
spoken.  Scarcely  more  than  a  beginning,  in  a  scientific  way, 
has  been  made.  No  one  realizes  more  than  the  writer,  after 
several  years  of  teaching  and  of  practical  contact  with  adver- 
tising, the  scarcity  of  thoroughly  established  facts  and  prin- 
ciples. 

The  author  takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his  gratitude 
to  the  editors  and  publishers  of  Printer's  Ink,  System,  Adver- 
tising and  Selling,  and  Judicious  Advertising  for  permission 
to  quote  extensively  from  these  periodicals. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Place  of  Advertising  in  the  Business  World  ....       7 

"ViA^IL  Problems  of  Advertising  :  Definitions 17 

^T^^II.  Attracting  Attention:  Eeaching  the  People 2&^^^'» 

_^^,^^^s^'  Display  Type  :  Its  Attention-Value  and  Use 39 

V.'  THE  Size  of  Advertisements 45 

VI.  Emphasis  and  Unity  in  Advertisements:  Avoidance 

of  Counter- Attractions 63" ") 

VII.  Contrast:  The  Use  of  Colors  and  Novel  Features.  . .,   J'S^'"'^ 

VIII.  Borders  :  Eye-Movement  and  Attention 82 

IX.  Mediums — General  Considerations 91 

—  X.  Mediums — Magazines 96 

XL  Mediums — Nevpspapers  118 

XII.  Mediums — Street  Bail  way  Cards 128 

XIII.  Trade  Names  and  Trade-Marks 131 

XIV.  Headlines   147 

XV.  Illustrations 163) 

XVI.  Eepetition  and  Cumulative  Effect 171 

XVII.  Type  and  Legibility 180 

XVIII.  Artistic  Elements  in  Advertisements ^   198)-^ 


XIX.     Arrangement,  Balance,  and  Harmony 207' 

XX.     Argumentative  Advertisements 223 

XXL     Suggestive  Advertisements:  Methods  of  Keying 236 

XXII.     Testing  the  Strength  of  Advertisements 249 

^>«^    XXIII.     The  Ethics  of  Advertising 267 

Appendix 277 


\ 


ADVERTISING 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  PLACE  OF  ADVERTISING  IN  THE  BUSINESS  WOELD 

The  Immensity  of  Modern  Advertising.  Advertising 
plays  today  a  most  conspicuous  role  in  the  management  of  a 
business.  It  has  assumed  such  tremendous  proportions  in 
recent  years  that  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  exact  place 
which  it  occupies  in  present  commercial  affairs.  We  may 
gain  some  notion  of  its  immense  proportions  from  the  amount 
of  money  expended  and  from  the  amount  of  space  used  each 
year  for  printed  advertising  in  America.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  nearly  $700,000,000  are  spent  annually  for  this 
purpose  and  that  about  2000  square  miles  of  printed  space  are 
used  each  year  in  this  country.  Approximately  half  a  million 
dollars  are  spent  annually  for  advertising  any  one  of  a  score 
or  more  of  such  well-known  household  commodities  as  Ivory 
Soap,  Gold  Dust,  Uneeda  Biscuit,  and  Grape  Nuts;  or,  again, 
we  may  gain  a  concrete  idea  of  the  immensity  of  advertising 
from  the  cost  of  space  for  single  advertisements  in  some  of  the 
leading  mediums.  Thus,  for  example,  the  back  cover  of 
McClure's  Magazine  for  a  single  issue  in  1913  cost  $1785. 
The  back  cover  of  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  for  a  single  issue 
in  1913  cost  $10,000.  Of  course  these  are  preferred  positions 
and  cost  very  much  more  than  any  inside  page.  Prom  still 
another  angle  the  immensity  of  advertising  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  cost  of  maia- 
taining  a  newspaper  or  a  magazine  is  derived  from  its  adver- 
tising space. 

The  outsider  naturally  wonders  whether  advertising,  with 
such  high  rates  for  space,  can  really  be  a  profitable  method  of 
selling,  for  that  is  its  ultimate  aim ;  or  whether  it  is  not  simply 
an  expensive  luxury  indulged  in  by  large  manufacturers. 

7 


8 


ADVERTISING 


However,  it  takes  very  little  study  and  analysis  to  prove  that 
advertising  is  not  a  mushroom  luxury  but  a  profitable  and,  as 
a  rule,  an  economical  method  of  selling.  It  would  not  other- 
wise have  become  such  a  momentous  business  force  during  the 
last  fifty  years.  For  efiicient  business  organizations  are  con- 
ducted in  as  economical  a  manner  as  possible,  and  if  advertis- 
ing had  proved  to  be  a  less  profitable  method  of  selling  than 
personal  salesmanship,  or  if  its  aid  to  personal  salesmanship 
had  been  unprofitable,  it  would  have  been  abandoned  long  ago. 
The  following  extract  from  Printer's  Ink  may  well  be  read  in 
this  connection : 

The  very  best  proof  in  the  land  that  advertising  decreases  selling  cost 
is  contained  in  the  situation  of  Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx,  the  famous 
clothing  house,  as  compared  with  other  clothing  houses.  Hart,  Schaff- 
ner &  Marx  are  authoritatively  reputed  to  do  an  annual  volume  of  busi- 
ness of  about  $15,000,000.  .  .  .  Good  advertising  has  been  their  keynote 
all  this  time;  and  today  their  salesmen  (who  are  on  salary,  not  on  com- 
mission) talk  little  else  but  advertising  to  dealers.  ...  In  magazine 
advertising  alone  this  spring  and  last  fall  Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx 
spent  $85,000.  This  figure  is  not  a  guess,  it  is  checked  up  from  the 
magazines.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  would  prob- 
ably cover  the  total  advertising  expenditure,  newspaper  advertising 
and  all. 

Now  let  us  measure  up  selling  cost.  For  the  sales'  department 
expense  (everything  but  advertising),  I  learn  from  inside  sources.  Hart, 
Schaffner  &  Marx  spend  only  2^^  to  3  percent.  See  how  this  measures 
up  beside  other  clothing  houses: 


Magazine 

Advertising 

1909-1910 


Selling 
Cost 


Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx 
B.  Kuppenheimer  &  Co. 
Samuel  W.  Peck  &  Co . . 
Alfred  Benjamin 


$85,000 
49,000 
29,000 
24,000 


4 


Here  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  object  lessons  ever  tabulated 
regarding  the  relation  of  advertising  to  sales  policies.  In  almost  per- 
fect proportion  to  the  expenditure  for  advertising,  the  selling  cost  has 
decreased  and  volume  of  sales  increased.  Those  clothing  manufacturers 
named  above  are  all  advertisers  —  there  is  an  endless  number  of  other 
clothing  manufacturers  whose  names  are  little  known  to  consumers,  and 
wiiose  selling  cost  ranges  all  the  way  from  6  to  9  percent.     They  are 


ADVERTISING  IN  THE  BUSINESS  WORLD  9 

getting  neither  the  reduced  cost  of  manufacture  which  comes  with  the 
larger  volume  of  sales  nor  the  decreased  selling  cost  which  comes  with 
trade-marking  and  consumer  advertising.i 

Effectiveness  of  Advertising.  Advertising,  when  prop- 
erly executed,  is  an  efficient  and  economic  tool  of  business. 
People  are  influenced  in  their  purchasing  to  a  far  greater 
extent  by  advertising  than  they  commonly  realize.  A  recent 
investigation  conducted  by  the  Chicago  Tribune  showed  that 
36  percent  of  purchases  of  foods  were  initiated  through  the 
influence  of  advertising.  And  this  does  not  take  into  account 
the  forgotten  and  unconscious  effects  of  impressions  made  by 
advertisements.  As  explained  in  an  article  in  Judicious 
Advertising,  four  questions  were  addressed  to  housewives  as 
follows : 

1.  What  are  your  favorite  brands  of  food  and  why  do  you  buy 
them? 

2.  How  was  your  attention  first  called  to  each? 

3.  "What  has  your  experience  been  with  each? 

4.  How  much  are  you  influenced  by  the  labels  and  by  the  known 
purity  of  food  products? 

Replies  from  those  who  responded  in  this  contest  were  classified 
into  37  broad  divisions  of  food  products,  ranging  alphabetically  from 
baking  powder  to  vinegar.  The  total  votes  for  all  the  brands  were 
30,936.  This  does  not  mean  that  this  number  of  separate  replies  was 
received,  but  that  this  was  the  total  number  of  votes  cast  for  all 
brands. 

The  reason  for  purchasing  each  brand  was  assigned  in  nearly  every 
case.     These  reasons  were  classified  in  three  divisions,  as  follows: 

Influenced  by  retailers,  16,527,  or  55  percent  of  the  total. 

Influenced  by  advertising,  11,372,  or  36  percent  of  the  total. 

Influenced  by  friends,  1889,  or  6  percent  of  the  total. 

Those  food  products  in  which  the  influence  of  advertising  was  most 
apparent  are,  in  general,  the  products  that  are  most  widely  advertised. 
These  products,  ranked  in  the  order  in  which  the  influence  of  advertising 
was  admitted  to  be  strongest,  were  as  follows: 

Cocoa  and  chocolate 61%       V 

Cereals   60  ^ 

Beverages    < 48 

Flavoring    extracts 46 

Meat  products 45 

Milk  and  baking  powder,  tied 43 

Sauces  and  relishes 42 

1.  .T.  G.  Frederick  in  Printer's  Ink,  August  4,  1910,  p.  3. 


10  ADVERTISING 

Among  the  comments  from  those  housekeepers  who  admitted  the 
influence  of  advertising  there  appear  a  number  of  unusually  intelligent 
tributes  to  the  manufacturer  and  wholesaler  who  advertises.  Some  of 
these  quotations  are  given  herewith: 

Advertising  governs  the  popularity  of  any  article.  And,  in  fact, 
unconsciously,  the  advertisements  that  are  continually  kept  before  the 
public  influence  the  purchaser  to  purchase  the  articles  advertised  and  to 
continue  to  do  so  until  some  more  persistent  advertiser,  by  sheer  per- 
sistence, convinces  one  that  we  ought  to  also  try  their  article,  and  its 
use  a  few  times  makes  it  soon  become  a  habit.  We  are  not  interested 
at  all  in  what  we  have  not  read  or  heard  about. 

I  always  scan  the  newspaper  pages  closely  for  any  newly  adver- 
tised foods,  as  we  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  something  as  good 
as,  or  better  than,  what  we  are  using.  I  prefer  buying  the  advertised 
brands,  as  I  find  the  manufacturers  standing  back  of  them  ready  to 
replace  any  package  which  is  not  entirely  satisfactory.  I  always  ask 
for  my  groceries  under  the  brands  or  trade-marks,  as  I  find  it  easier, 
and  then  I  am  sure  to  always  have  the  same  quality  of  goods.  I  always 
read  the  labels  of  untried  brands  carefully  before  purchasing,  and  I 
find  the  practice  to  be  universal  among  my  housewife  friends,  as  a  food 
may  look  all  right  but  have  some  objectionable  feature,  such  as 
artificial  coloring,  or  may  contain  none  of  the  article  whose  name 
it  bears  upon  the  label,  such  as  Quince  Jelly  that  contains  nothing 
but  apples. 

In  case  of  first  purchases,  my  reasons  are  substantially  the  same.  In 
all  cases  the  articles  have  been  attractively  advertised.  I  do  exactly 
what  I  believe  nearly  every  other  woman  does,  except  that  most  women 
do  it  unconsciously  while  I  set  about  it  deliberately:  I  judge  the  article 
by  the  quality  of  its  advertising  (the  reliability  of  the  medium  first 
and  the  apparent  honesty  and  good  taste  of  the  advertisement  second), 
and  I  am  seldom  fooled,  as  the  same  business  spirit  is  usually  back 
of  both.i 

The  general  effectiveness  of  advertising  is  further  shown 
by  the  increasingly  widespread  belief  in  its  reliability  and  by 
the  corresponding  decrease  in  the  number  of  people  who  con- 
sider advertising  as  of  little  value.  (As  a  matter  of  fact,  many, 
even  of  this  class,  are  unconsciously  influenced  by  it.)  W.  A. 
Shryer,^  a  business  man  and  student  of  advertising,  asked  this 
question  of  a  total  of  561  persons:  "Are  you  in  favor  of 
advertising,  or  are  you  opposed  to  it?" 

1.  Judicious  Advertising,  December,   1913,   p.   63. 

2.  Byatem,  November,  1913,  p.  472. 


ADVEBTISING  IN  THE  BUSINESS  WORLD  H 

The  following  tabulation  was  made  of  the  replies: 


In  Favob 

Against 

Indifferent 

511  College  students  and  profes- 
sors   

50  Business  men 

469 
46 

21 
2 

21 
2 

It  will  be  observed  that  only  about  4  percent  of  the  stu- 
dents and  business  men  were  opposed  to  advertising. 
Figure  I    strikingly  shows  the  power  of  advertising. 


$4,000 


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r- 

00 

o> 

o 

o 

O 

o 

o 

o 

<n 

05 

OJ 

Ol 

a> 

05 

t3,000 


$3,000 


.$1,000 


Figure  1 


"The  ascending  line  is  a  significant  demonstration  of  the 
cnmulative  power  of  persistent  newspaper  advertising.  It  is 
drawn  in  exact  accordance  with  the  showing  of  sales  in  a 
'county  seat'  town  of  central  Georgia.  The  'sag'  marks  a 
poor  crop  year  as  well  as  the  panic."  By  C.  H.  Post,i  Adver- 
tising Manager,  F.  W.  Devoe  &  C.  T.  Eaynolds  Company, 
Paints,  New  York.  The  horizontal  distances  from  left  to  right 
indicate  the  years  from  1904  to  1910  and  the  vertical  distances 
from  below  up  represent  so  many  dollars  of  sales  of  paints 
resulting  from  the  advertising 

(1)  Printer'8  Ink,  February  16,  1911,  p.  4. 


12  ADVERTISING 

Some  Concrete  Examples.  A  few  examples  of  actual  re- 
turns of  advertisements,  drawn  from  various  lines  of  busi- 
ness, will  serve  to  illustrate  the  effectiveness  of  advertising: 

The  Fitchburg  Machine  Works,  of  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  ob- 
tained $16,185  worth  of  new  business  through  thirteen  adver- 
tisements at  a  cost  for  advertising  space  of  $663.  The  adver- 
tising thus  cost  only  4  percent  of  the  gross  returns.^ 

The  New  York  Central  Realty  Company,  advertising  in 
Everybody's  Magazine,  obtained  56  inquiries  at  $2.33  per 
inquiry,  or  a  total  of  $125.  These  inquiries  resulted  in  a  sale 
of  bonds  amounting  to  $7500.  The  cost  of  advertising  was 
less  than  2  percent  of  the  gross  sales.^ 

Inquiries  resulting  from  single  advertisements  often  run 
up  into  the  thousands.  In  1911  Colgate  and  Company  placed 
in  a  few  media,  only,  an  advertisement  which  brought  about 
60,000  written  responses.  It  is  true  that  this  advertisement 
offered  prizes  for  brief  estimates  made  concerning  the  strength 
of  two  smaller  advertisements  reproduced  in  it.  Nevertheless, 
the  result  shows  the  large  number  of  people  who  read  and  go 
to  the  trouble  of  writing  a  response  to  an  advertisement. 

The  advertising  of  banks  and  high  class  investment  securi- 
ties has  until  recently  been  stiff  and  stereotyped.  "While  this 
condition  lasted,  the  results  were  doubtful.  Lately,  however, 
more  active  methods  have  been  introduced,  and  the  returns 
have  been  gratifying,  as  shown  by  the  following  quotations: 

A  Profitable  Advertisement.  In  1911  the  New  York  state  legis- 
lature amended  the  tax  law  of  that  state  by  adding  article  XV,  relat- 
ing to  the  taxation  of  secured  debts.  This  amendment  enables  holders 
of  investment  bonds  to  render  such  bonds  tax-exempt  by  the  payment 
of  a  nominal  tax  of  one-half  percent  on  their  face  value.  This  amend- 
ment became  effective  September  1,  1911.  Prior  to  that  date  the 
Guaranty  Trust  Company  of  New  York  had  prepared  a  booklet  giving 
the  full  text  of  the  new  law  with  explanatory  notes  for  the  benefit  of 
the  layman.  On  the  day  the  law  went  into  effect  au  advertisement 
was  inserted  in  the  various  New  York  dailies,  calling  attention  to  the 
passage  of  the  law  and  explaining  briefly  its  provisions.  The  ad  also 
invited  those  interested  to  send  for  the  booklet  and  also  announced  that 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  October  16,  1913,  p.  19. 

2.  Adverlising  and  Selling,  Vol.  20,  p.  6. 


ADVERTISING  IN  TEE  BUSINESS  WORLD  13 

we  were  prepared,  for  a  nominal  fee,  to  assist  investors  in  rendering 
their  bonds  tax-exempt.  All  of  the  advertisements  were  keyed  so  that 
inquiries  could  be  traced  directly  to  the  source.  The  results  were 
immediate  and  most  gratifying.  Indeed,  the  demand  for  the  booklet 
was  so  great  that  we  were  compelled  to  get  out  a  second  edition,  and 
the  total  amount  of  fees  that  we  received  for  thus  assisting  our  customers 
amounted  to  more  than  twice  as  much  as  the  entire  cost  of  the  booklets, 
the  advertisements,  and  all  other  incidental  expenses.  In  addition,  we 
found  after  all  inquiries  were  in  that  we  had  gathered  together  a  very 
valuable  list  of  names  for  the  future  use  of  our  bond  department.  Such 
opportunities  as  this,  of  course,  do  not  occur  every  day,  but  when  they 
do  present  themselves,  if  taken  advantage  of  on  the  minute,  they  are 
pretty  sure  to  prove  of  definite  worth. 

General  Advertising  Pays.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  bank 
advertising  of  a  general  nature  does  increase  deposits.  Here  is  an 
example  which  is  reasonably  conclusive.  The  city  of  Plainfield,  N.  J., 
in  1902,  had  a  population  of  15,000,  with  three  banks,  whose  com- 
bined deposits  were  $2,000,000.  A  new  bank  was  started  whose  policy 
was  radically  different  from  that  of  the  older  banks,  in  that  it  believed 
thoroughly  in  advertising.  Its  success,  which  was  almost  immediate, 
compelled  the  other  banks  to  abandon  their  old  policy  of  silence,  and 
since  1903  all  the  banks  in  Plainfield  have  been  consistent  and  continuous 
advertisers.  The  population  of  Plainfield  in  the  ten  years  has  increased 
5000,  or  25  percent,  while  the  deposits  in  the  banks  have  increased  to  over 
$10,000,000,  or  more  than  500  percent.  The  vice-president  of  one  of 
the  banks  in  that  city  tells  me  that  in  his  opinion  ' '  this  is  conclusive 
evidence  of  the  great  value  of  good  bank  publicity." 

A  city  in  southern  Michigan,  in  1902,  had  a  population  of  about 
10,000,  with  three  banks,  whose  total  deposits  were  about  $3,500,000. 
Practically  no  advertising  was  done  by  any  of  these  institutions.  A 
new  bank  was  established  in  1903,  the  management  of  which  believed  in 
advertising,  and  in  less  than  nine  years  the  new  institution  has  accumu- 
lated deposits  larger  than  were  the  combined  deposits  of  the  other  three 
banks  ten  years  ago.  In  the  meantime  the  other  banks  have  been 
forced  to  advertise  more  than  they  did,  and  they  too  have  grown,  so 
that  the  combined  deposits  of  the  four  banks  are  today  about  $11,000,000, 
a  gain  of  over  200  percent,  although  the  population  of  the  town 
increased  during  the  same  time  less  than  35  percent.  The  cashier  of 
one  of  the  banks  says:  "Needless  to  say,  my  opinion  is  that  advertis- 
ing is  a  good  thing,  as  you  observe  that  this  bank  has  grown  from  a 
deposit  account  of  nothing  to  $3,700,000  in  eight  and  a  half  years.i 

The  effectiveness  of  advertising  is  further  indicated  by  the 
quite  generally  accepted  opinion  that  more  business  failures 

1.  F.  W.  Ellsworth,  Judicious  Advertising,  November,  1913,  p.  57. 


14 


ADVEBTISING 


occur  among  unadvertised  than  among  advertised  concerns. 
To  quote  from  Printer's  Ink,  January  19,  1911,  p.  31 : 

It  is  interesting  to  analyze  the  failures  which  occurred  during  the 
past  year.  There  were  3280  manufacturing  failures  —  250  more  than  in 
1909,  but  500  less  than  in  1907.  The  greatest  number  of  failures  were 
in  clothing  and  millinery  lines  —  largely  women's  clothes,  which  in  the 
finished  shape  are  less  advertised  than  any  other  large  division  of  mer- 
chandise. The  industry  suffering  the  next  greatest  number  of  failures 
was  the  lumber  industry  —  another  unadvertised  class;  and  next  the- 
millers.  Flour  advertising  is  done  by  practically  two  —  recently  three  — 
concerns.  Machinery  and  tool  makers,  glass,  earthenware,  and  brick 
makers,  and  printers  and  engravers  suffered  more  heavily  than  any  other 
classes;  and  all  of  them  are  practically  unadvertised. 


Mr.   Farmer,; 

Time  is  Money 

You  cannot  afford  to  run  vour  Cream  Separator  by  ' 
hand.  Buy  a  VICTORY  (lEARLESS  and  run  it  with  ; 
your  Gasoline  Engine  or  if  you  wish  run  it  by  hand. 
The  power  machine  that  lasts.  No  gears,  no  worm 
spindle.  Larger  capacity  than  hand  separators, 
liie  low  price  will  astonish  you.  Ask  for  prices  and 
circulars.    Just  send  us  youi"  address. 

Dept.  A^   La  Crostc,  WiKoima^ 


Figure  2 


The  above  advertisement,  appearing  in  Hoard's  Dairy- 
man and  costing  $22.40,  brought  forty-four  inquiries  at  51 
cents  per  inquiry.  The  advertisement  was  very  efficient  and 
brought  inquiries  at  a  low  figure,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
cost  of  selling  a  cream  separator  by  personal  salesmanship  is 
from  $15  to  $20. 

It  is  sometimes  assumed  by  business  men  that  an  article 
which  has  been  used  and  advertised  for  many  years  will,  by 
the  sheer  force  of  its  past  momentum,  continue  to  have  as 
wide  a  sale  as  before,  if  all  advertising  is  stopped.  "What 
happens,  however,  even  with  a  widely  known  commoditj^ 


ADVERTISING  IN  TEE  BUSINESS  WORLD  15 

when  all  advertising  is  suddenly  stopped,  although  all  other 
methods  of  distribution  are  kept  the  same,  is  a  rapid  dropping 
off  in  sales.  To  cite  one  example  {Printer's  Ink^  March  9, 
1910)  : 

A  short  time  after  the  death  of  Charles  Vogeler,  of  St.  Jacob's 
Oil  fame,  his  widow  called  in  a  banker  to  look  over  affairs.  The  banker, 
representing  ideas  of  a  former  commercial  epoch,  toiled  microscopically 
through  the  books,  and  was  outraged  at  the  items  spent  for  advertising. 
He  would  mend  that!  See  how  much  more  money  might  have  been 
made  if  there  had  been  no  advertising !  He  figured  the  publicity  expendi- 
tures entirely  as  useless  ' '  expense, ' '  and  he  attempted  to  make  the  widow 
see  it  that  way. 

The  widow  had  a  lot  of  faith  left  in  her  husband,  for  she  herself 
had  seen  millions  of  bottles  sent  away  to  uncounted  buyers.  Yet  there 
were  the  awful  figures  "squandered"  just  for  space  in  magazines  and 
on  billboards,  and,  besides,  wasn't  a  banker  an  all-wise  man  whom  one 
shouldn't  dispute? 

So  it  happened  that  St.  Jacob's  Oil  came  less  and  less  frequently 
to  the  attention  of  the  public.  As  the  contracts  ran  out  they  were  not 
renewed  and  before  long  St.  Jacob 's  Oil,  which  had  been  known  to  nearly 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  America  —  yes,  and  the  world  —  through 
the  tremendous  force  of  advertising,  quietly  effaced  itself  from  Ameri- 
can landscapes  and  from  magazines  and  the  newspapers.  Within  a 
year  or  so  all  advertising  had  practically  ceased. 

St.  Jacob's  Oil  had  a  splendid  distribution.  It  could  be  got  any- 
where. The  banker  had  said  that  it  would  sell  anyhow,  because  every- 
body had  come  to  know  it  so  well.  But  ...  as  the  advertising  had 
nicely  ceased  to  bother  the  expense  columns  of  the  ledgers,  the  demand 
slackened.  Complaints  reached  headquarters  from  dealers  that  St. 
Jacob's  wasn't  going  as  it  had.  And  so  within  another  two  or  three 
years  the  golden  stream  of  orders  had  shrunk  to  proportions  that  would 
have  driven  its  former  proprietor  frantic.  St.  Jacob's  had  become  a 
back  number. 

Advertising  and  Prices.  Advertising  has  been  charged 
with  being  responsible  to  a  considerable  extent  for  the  in- 
creased cost  of  living.  It  would  seem  improbable,  however, 
that  advertising  has  contributed  any  appreciable  amount 
to  the  prices  for  the  necessities  of  life.  For  we  must  remem- 
ber that  advertising  is  on  the  whole  an  economical  method 
of  selling.  In  numerous  instances  it  has  increased  the  number 
of  sales  and  thus  decreased  the  cost  of  manufacturing  as  well 


16  ADVERTISING 

as  of  selling.  It  has,  in  a  certain  sense,  educated  the  public 
toward  buying  foods  in  more  sanitary  containers.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  retail  price  of  many  of  the  most  widely 
advertised  commodities  has  remained  the  same  for  years  even 
in  the  face  of  the  increased  cost  of  labor  and  raw  material. 
An  inquiry  made  among  twenty-nine  large  firms^  concerning 
this  matter  showed  that  during  recent  years  in  which  adver- 
tising has  been  largely  employed,  five  firms  have  reduced  the 
price  of  their  commodity  and  maintained  the  same  quality, 
eight  firms  have  maintained  the  same  price  and  quality,  five 
firms  have  reduced  the  price  and  improved  the  quality,  and 
eleven  firms  have  maintained  the  same  price  and  improved 
the  quality. 

Advertising  Founded  on  Principles.  The  careful  analy- 
sis of  a  successful  or  an  ineffective  advertisement  reveals 
underlying  principles  which  have  been  applied  correctly  or  in- 
correctly, or  possibly  ignored,  as  the  case  may  be.  Success 
and  failure  are  not  matters  of  good  or  bad  luck.  Complete 
analysis  of  a  proposition  and  careful  execution  of  the  plans 
bring  results  with  as  reasonable  certainty  in  an  advertisement 
as  cause  and  effect  follow  each  other  in  any  other  controllable 
human  affairs. 

Advertising  is  a  field  in  which  immense  sums  of  money  are 
expended,  in  which  invaluable  permanent  assets  of  good-will 
are  developed,  in  which  large  results  are  sometimes  produced 
as  if  by  magic,  in  which  success  or  failure  often  hinges  on  a 
minute  understanding  of  human  nature  and  of  economic  con- 
ditions. Such  a  field  deserves  the  most  scrutinizing  study. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  succeeding  chapters  to  point  out  what 
the  scientific  foundation  is,  and  what  some  of  the  underlying 
principles  are. 

1.  Prinier'8  Ink,  January  22,  1914,  p.  3. 


CHAPTER  II 

PROBLEMS   OF   ADVERTISING:    DEFINITIONS 

Problems  Confronting  the  Advertiser.    In  order  to  obtain. 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  theoretical  and  practical  prob- 
lems of  advertising,  let  us  exniniiu'  for  a  moment  the  actual 
situation  which  confronts  the  man  who  is  preparing  thp  playi 


and  copy  for  advertising  a  given  commodity.    What  informa- 
tion must  he  have,  and  on  what  principles  must  he  proceed  T\ 

To  make  the  situation  entirely  concrete,  What  problems 
would  be  involved  in  preparing  the  advertising  plan,  for  ex- 
ample, of  coffee  ?  Without  attempting  at  this  point  to  make  a 
systematic  enumeration  of  all  points  concerned,  let  us  note 
some  of  the  numerous  queries  that  the  advertiser  must  meet 
and  solve,  if  his  copy  is  to  be  effective. 

The  first  large  question  that  he  would  have  to  face  would 
be  the  method  by  which  the  coffee  is  to  be  sold  and  distributed. 
Shall  the  advertising  begin  before  the  distribution  of  the 
coffee  among  the  dealers,  or  shall  the  dealers  be  solicited  to 
have  it  in  stock  in  advance  of  the  advertising  ?  Shall  personal 
salesmanship  and  advertising  be  promoted  simultaneously? 
What  shall  be  the  general  sales  policy  ?  What  is  the  condition 
of  the  market  ?    How  severe  is  the  competition  ? 

The  second  large  question  relates  to  the  technique  and_ 
execution  of  the  advertising  plan,  that  is,  the  manner  in  which 
the  advertising  should  actually  be  done.  In  order  that  we 
may  appreciate  the  complexity  of  the  situation  we  may  enu- 
merate some  of  the  specific  advertising  problems  as  follows: 
What  class  of  people  will  be  the^natural  buyers  of  the  coffee  ? 
iJy  what  mediums  can  this  particular  class  be  reached  ?  What 
is^^Ee  best  time  for  launching  the  advertising  campaign  ?  How 
tSfge  shair  the  individual  advertisements  be?  How  fre- 
quently shall  advertisements  be  inserted  ?  Shall  small  adver- 
tisements be  used  frequently  or  shall  large  advertisements  be 

17 


18  ADVERTISING 

used  at  longer  intervals?  How  large  a  part  of  the  people 
shall  the  campaign  attempt  to  reach  ?  What  features  will  be 
most  effective  with  the  class  to  be  reached  ?  What  shall  be  put 
into  the  headline  ?  Shall  an  illustration  be  used,  and  if  so,  what 
shall  it  represent  ?  If  the  coffee  has  never  been  on  the  market, 
by  what  name  shall  it  be  designated  ?  What  kinds  and  sizes  of 
type  will  be  most  effective?  What  kind  of  borders  shall  be 
used  ?  What  shall  be  the  arrangement  and  location  of  the  dif- 
ferent parts,  such  as  illustrations,  headlines,  and  paragraphs  ? 
Should  argumentative  or  suggestive  text,  or  a  combination  of 
both,  be  used?  How  may  the  effectiveness  of  the  appeals  be 
tested  ? 

Planning  a  CampaigTi.  The  advertising  plan  of  Instant 
Coffee  illustrates  in  an  actual,  concrete  way  how  numerous 
and  intricate  the  problems  of  a  campaign  are.^  The  following 
illustration  has  been  selected  to  show  the  complexity  and  the 
interrelation  of  the  problems  of  advertising  and  the  sales 
policy.  Part  of  the  success  of  this  campaign  is  due  to  per- 
sonal salesmanship,  soliciting,  canvassing,  and  demonstrating, 
and  part  of  it  is  due  to  advertising : 

We  started  three  years  ago,  my  associates  and  I,  with  a  new  product, 
a  crystallized  coffee,  put  out  under  the  brand  name  of  G.  Washington 
Prepared  Coffee.  Four  months  after  our  start  we  had  secured  a  foot- 
hold in  what  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  most  diflScult 
markets  in  the  world  and  were  selling  the  .equivalent  of  42,500  cups  of 
40-cent  coffee  every  morning.  Now,  after  three  years,  our  sales  have 
reached  the  equal  of  about  1,000,000  cups  a  day. 

We  have  done  it  partly  through  advertising  and  partly  through 
various  sales  methods.  We  have  made  our  share  of  mistakes;  and  some 
of  them  have  been  costly.  But  the  net  results  of  our  efforts  have  been 
gratifying. 

This  was  the  situation  three  years  ago,  when  we  organized  in  New 
York  the  G.  Washington  Coffee  Refining  Company  to  take  over  a  small 
going  business  and  develop  the  distribution  of  what  we  have  described 
as  a  "prepared,"  "refined,"  or  "crystallized"  coffee. 

We  have  dodged  the  use  of  the  word  "extract"  or  "essence"  as 
a  description  of  the  product  because  of  the  undesirable  associations  those 
words  have.  Besides,  it  is  not  strictly  an  extract.  It  is  the  result  of 
a  refining  process,  just  as  sugar  is  the  result  of  a  refining  of  sugar 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  October  2,  1913,  p.  3. 


PBOBLEMS  OF  ADVERTISING  19 

cane  or  sugar  beet.  The  best  part  of  the  coffee  is  there,  powdered,  for 
handy  package  in  tins. 

The  first  thing,  naturally,  was  to  settle  on  the  brand  name.  We 
have  been  criticized  for  making  use  of  the  name  "G.  Washington" 
and  the  well-known  Washington  signature.  To  some  the  apparent 
exploitation  of  the  Father  of  His  Country  seems  little  short  of  sacri- 
legious; to  many  others  a  breach  of  good  taste.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
our  critics  are  entirely  wrong.  The  Washington  for  whom  our  coffee 
is  named  is  not  the  immortal  George  Washington,  of  the  English  branch, 
who  has  won  a  right  to  the  use  of  his  own  name.  This  George  Wash- 
ington is  the  inventor  of  a  kerosene  vapor  lamp,  which  is  on  the  market 
today.  He  worked  fourteen  years  on  this  coffee  refining  process.  Yes, 
there  is  plenty  of  justification,  moral  and  otherwise,  for  the  use  of  the 
name.  As  for  the  signature,  its  resemblance  to  that  of  the  immortal 
George  Washington  is  broad  rather  than  close,  and  arose,  I  suspect,  out 
of  Mr.  Washington's  natural  admiration  for  his  distinguished  relative. 

So  we  kept  the  brand  name.  The  next  step  was  to  lay  out  the 
campaign.  Confident  though  we  were  in  the  unbounded  possibilities  of 
the  product,  we  proceeded  cautiously.  Mr.  Washington  had  done  busi- 
ness on  a  small  scale  and  we  desired  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  the  mer- 
chandising conditions  were  right,  by  trying  it  out  on  a  broader  field. 

We  laid  out  three  lines  of  development.  First,  we  arranged  a  try- 
out  at  Atlantic  City  that  summer,  in  1910.  Second,  we  put  a  small 
advertisement  in  the  Saturday  Evening  Post  in  the  hope  of  getting  a 
line  on  the  attitude  of  the  public  in  all  sections  toward  a  prepared 
coffee.  And,  third,  we  planned  to  get  distribution  and  educate  the 
retail  grocers  and  others  through  territorial  agents.  We  were  feeling 
our  way. 

The  results  soon  began  to  point  to  success.  The  Atlantic  City 
demonstration  store  we  opened  quickly  reached  an  average  sale  of  160 
cans  of  25-cent  and  80-cent  coffee.  We  had  to  increase  these  prices 
later  to  30  cents  and  90  cents  and  put  out  a  hotel  size  can.  By  means 
of  these  sales  and  the  accompanying  demonstrations,  the  brand  name  of 
the  coffee  was  carried  all  over  the  country. 

We  immediately  followed  this  up  by  organizing  a  force  of  forty  can- 
vassers and  twenty  demonstrators  and  working  from  town  to  town, 
touching  all  the  places  of  ten  thousand  and  over  in  the  East.  The 
demonstrators  worked  in  the  local  grocery  or  drug  stores  and  the  can- 
vassers sold  from  house  to  house.  We  also  took  in  all  the  convenient 
food  shows. 

Thousands  of  letters  came  in  reply  to  the  advertisement  in  the  Post 
and  confirmed  the  judgment  of  the  public  as  shown  at  Atlantic  City. 

We  had  our  opposition  pretty  well  sized  up  by  this  time.  It  was 
not  a  proposition  for  the  small  dealer  at  first.  When  our  salesman 
talked  30-cent  coffee  and  then  showed  a  can  about  half  the  size  of  a  tea 


20  ADVERTISING 

cup,  the  small  grocer  would  throw  up  his  hands.  He  couldn  't  see  the  value 
then.  So  we  saved  time  and  energy  by  following  the  line  of  least 
resistance  and  selling  only  the  largest  and  most  progressive  grocers  in 
every  town. 

By  fall  we  were  ready  for  advertising.  And  here  we  faced  a  dif- 
ficulty.   What  sort  of  story  should  we  go  to  the  public  with? 

We  should  have  liked  to  rehearse  the  many  talking  points  of  our 
unique  process  and  product,  but  we  were  afraid  the  public  might  not 
see  it  through  our  prejudiced  eyes. 

We  would  have  liked  to  play  up  the  modest  inventor  of  the  process, 
but  he  was  inexorable  in  his  refusal  to  be  exploited. 

Six  leading  physicians  of  the  country  have  told  us  the  use  of  our 
refined  coffee  in  place  of  ordinary  coffee  would  add  five  years  to  the 
life  of  the  average  coffee  drinker,  but  our  advisers  warned  us  solemnly 
against  helping  out  the  anti-coffee  campaign;  and  we  could  not  claim 
any  actual  improvement  in  flavor. 

There  was  but  one  strong  talking  point  left  —  convenience.  G.  Wash- 
ington coffee  is  made  in  an  instant,  in  the  cup.  The  powdered  or  crys- 
tallized coffee  is  dropped  in  and  dissolves  in  an  instant  when  hot  or 
cold  water  is  poured  over  it. 

This  idea  furnished  our  copy.  It  was  possibly  not  the  strongest 
argument  we  had;  it  probably  would  not  help  us  as  much  as  some  of 
the  other  interesting  facts  we  have  to  tell;  but  it  was  safe;  it  would 
not  start  the  mind  running  in  critical  directions.  It  might  not  create 
an  intense  desire,  but  it  has  provoked  curiosity  and  led  directly  into 
sales. 

Our  plan  was  one  of  territorial  campaigning,  sending  our  sal»s  force 
into  a  community  and  backing  it  up  with  local  newspaper  advertising  to 
run  just  before  and  while  the  salesmen  were  working  the  territory.  The 
newspaper  support  was  all  we  had  at  the  time;  no  store  cards,  window 
displays,  or  any  other  auxiliaries.  We  began  in  New  York  City  and 
Brooklyn  and  worked  outward,  with  the  help  of  local  advertising,  for 
the  next  two  or  three  months,  and  after  that,  until  the  fall  of  the 
following  year,  1912,  without  it. 

Our  salesmen  handled  the  proposition  in  this  way:  One  of  them 
would  call  on  a  dealer  with  a  case  containing  two  vacuum  bottles,  a  can 
of  sugar,  and  a  can  of  G.  Washington  Instant  Coffee.  One  vacuum 
bottle  contained  hot  water.     The  other  bottle  contained  cream. 

The  salesman  introduced  himself,  made  a  cup  of  Instant  Coffee 
on  the  spot  by  putting  a  spoonful  of  the  crystallized  coffee  into  a  cup 
and  dissolving  it  instantly  with  the  hot  water.  This  he  served  to  the 
grocer,  with  or  without  cream  and  sugar.  Our  men  were  calling  on  the 
leading  grocers.  A  great  majority  of  the  latter  were  impressed  by  the 
demonstration  and  stocked  goods. 

All  this  time  we  were  adding  to  our  string  of  brokers.     Some  of 


PROBLEMS  OF  ADVERTISING  21 

these  were  secured  by  the  traveling  salesmen ;  the  rest  by  correspondence. 
By  the  end  of  the  first  year  we  had  the  big  centers  covered  and  were 
getting  good  orders  from  our  brokers  through  the  jobbers. 

A  year  ago  last  summer  we  began  to  prepare  for  our  fall  campaign. 
We  had  used  the  local  newspapers  to  get  started.  We  thought  we  were 
ready  for  a  national  advertising  campaign,  and  concluded  to  try  the 
magazines.  A  list  was  made  up  for  a  four  months'  run,  beginning  with 
October.  This  included  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  the  Ladies'  Home 
Journal,  the  Butterick  trio,  Literary  Digest,  Collier's,  the  Woman's  Home 
Companion,  Illustrated  Sunday  Magazine,  Pictorial  Review,  and  Good 
Housekeeping.  The  space  ran  in  quarter  pages  in  all  of  the  magazines, 
except  Good  Housekeeping,  from  once  to  twice  in  a  month,  and  in  Good 
Housekeeping  full  pages  for  the  four  months.  It  contained  an  offer  of 
a  booklet  on  new  desserts  and  delicacies  made  with  our  coffee.  Many 
of  these  booklets  were  distributed  by  this  means. 

The  beneficial  effects  of  this  advertising,  after  a  silence  of  ten 
months,  were  soon  apparent.  It  stimulated  the  trade  and  also  softened 
it  toward  our  salesmen. 

We  followed  this  up  after  a  time  with  ten  or  a  dozen  painted 
bulletins  in  New  York  City,  divided  among  the  residential  section,  Brook- 
lyn Bridge,  and  the  trade  district.  Some  of  these  are  still  up.  Later, 
also,  we  added  eighth,  quarter,  and  half -page  ads  in  class  magazines  like 
Field  and  Stream,  Outdoor  Life,  the  Trained  Nurse,  Christian  Herald. 

We  had  great  hopes  in  regard  to  our  sampling.  We  spent  $25,000 
trying  out  a  campaign  of  it  in  New  England,  but  so  far  as  getting  any 
tangible  results  out  of  it,  it  was  a  flat  failure. 

I  am  disposed  to  think,  however,  that  the  failure  was  not  due  to 
any  inappropriateness  of  the  method  or  the  way  in  which  we  handled  it, 
which  was  by  the  usual  crews,  carefully  supervised,  but  to  the  fact  that 
our  samples  were  too  small,  whether  for  the  purpose  of  making  an 
impression  or  securing  a  fair  test.  The  sample  contained  only  enough 
for  four  cups,  that  is  to  say,  less  than  four  teaspoonfuls.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  many  housewives  and  cooks  tossed  it  away  without  giving 
any  thought  to  it — it  was  so  small. 

And  it  certainly  was  too  small  to  start  a  habit  or  break  up  the 
old  one.  One  of  the  popular  impressions  we  have  to  overcome  is  that 
G.  Washington  Instant  Coffee  is  good  only  for  picnics,  motor  trips, 
kitchenette  apartments,  hotel  rooms,  and  travel,  where  it  is  inconvenient 
to  use  the  ground  coffee.  Our  advertising  had  perhaps  strengthened 
this  impression.  And  one  or  two  cups  of  coffee  made  from  samples  are 
not  enough  to  change  the  habit  of  years. 

The  Shredded  Wheat  people  tell  me  that  they  try  to  cover  the  whole 
country  once  a  year  with  a  sample  box  of  their  biscuits.  A  salesman 
will  go  to  one  family  and  find  no  one  who  cares  for  Shredded  Wheats  He 
leaves  a  sample  and  goes  on.     The  second  bouse  is  the  isame;  nobody 


22  ADVERTISING 

cares  for  it.  And  the  third,  fourth,  and  so  on.  He  comes  to  the  tenth 
house,  and  there  is  one  little  boy  there  that  likes  it.  The  sample  left 
the  year  before  has  made  a  consumer  out  of  him.  And  some  of  the 
samples  left  that  year  will  make  consumers  in  the  other  families.  And 
it  pays  to  sample.  But  there  must  be  enough  large-sized  samples  to 
switch  or  start  the  habit. 

The  development  of  the  prepared  coffee  idea  in  our  advertising  — 
we  subsequently  changed  the  name  to  Instant  Coffee  —  suggested  a 
logical  sales  development,  and  we  went  after  the  fountain  trade  as  well 
as  the  grocers.  The  fountain  had  already  been  using  old  style  coffees 
and  extracts.  And  we  were  to  get  an  entrance  as  a  novelty  and  build 
up  a  distribution  through  several  thousand  drug  and  confectionery 
stores.     This,  of  course,  helps  the  grocery  store  sales. 

In  the  press  of  other  matters  we  have  not  given  the  attention  to 
literature  or  dealer  helps  that  we  should  have.  We  are  now  going  into 
that.  We  have  one  rather  elaborate  cut-out  and  a  fountain  sign;  also 
a  decalcomania  sign  for  the  dealer's  window.  This  has  our  trade-mark, 
together  with  the  legend  "fresh  creamery"  on  one  side  and  "fresh 
eggs  today"  on  the  other,  the  whole  in  bright  and  attractive  lettering. 
Our  men  put  this  up  themselves,  as  well  as  place  cut-outs  and  hangers 
in  stores. 

As  a  result  of  the  three  years'  work  we  have  done,  we  have  a  large 
majority  of  the  most  progressive  dealers  in  the  leading  towns  of  the 
country  from  Eastport,  Me.,  to  Vancouver,  B.  C. 

We  are  now  figuring  on  a  broad  fall  advertising  campaign  to  back 
np  the  growing  sales  promotion.  We  shall  give  more  attention  to  win- 
dow and  store  display,  to  dealer  cooperation  in  all  its  phases.  Grocers 
are  continually  asking  for  more  store  demonstrations,  and  we  shall  have 
to  develop  that  important  side.  We  shall  get  back  to  sampling  sooner 
or  later.  The  thing  called  for  now  is  intensive  work,  a  campaign  of 
education  directed  at  the  consumer  and  a  campaign  of  trade  work  to 
bring  in  the  small  dealers  whom  we  could  afford  to  neglect  while  we 
were  laying  the  framework  of  our  distribution.  We  have  got  to  go 
after  both  now.    And  advertising  will  naturally  play  a  large  part. 

Relation  of  Advertising  to  Business  Management.  Thus 
we  see  that  advertising  itself  is  simply  a  large  branch  in  the 
still  larger  department  of  the  marketing  of  a  product.  Its 
aims  and  methods  must  naturally  first  be  fitted  into  the  gen- 
eral plan  and  policy  of  marketing  that  particular  commodity, 
and  then  the  specific  advertising  problems  can  be  dealt  with. 
"We  shall  confine  our  present  study  to  the  principles  and  tech- 
nique of  advertising,  and  deal  with  the  general  sales  plan  only 
in  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  clarify  the  former. 


PEOBLEMS  OF  ADFEBTISING 


23 


The  precise  place  which  advertising  with  its  various  prob- 
lems occupies  in  what  for  our  present  purpose  of  analysis  we 
may  call  a  complete  modern  business  organization  is  set  forth 
in  the  following  outline.  Such  a  business  has  two  main  divi- 
sions, the  manufacturing  of  the  product,  and  the  marketing  of 
the  product.  The  former  does  not  concern  us  here  and  so  we 
shall  not  analyze  it.  The  latter  has  two  large  subdivisions, — 
the  methods  of  distributing  the  product  from  the  factory  to 
the  ultimate  consumer,  and  the  means  of  selling  the  product. 
The  ramifying  subdivisions  of  the  latter  are  indicated  in  the 
outline. 

From  this  analysis  it  will  be  seen  that  the  advertising  prob- 
lems cannot  be  dealt  with  independently  but  must  be  consid- 


Manu- 

fartur- 
ing 


Alar- 
ketins 


Methods 
Distri- 
bution 


f  Manufacturer  to  consumer 

j  Manufacturer  to  retailer  to  consumer 

]  Maniiiacturcr  to  jobber  to 

L     retailer  to  consumer 

Personal 
i-^alesmanship 


Field  or 
class  to  be  ' 
reached 


Selling    . 
Methods 


Advertising 


fCity 

Location 

4  Town 

LCountry 

Number 

Sex 

Profession 

fEducation 

Social 

■{  Nationality 

Status 

LKeligion,   Etc. 

rWealthy 

Financial 

J  Middle  Class 

Status 

I,  Poor 

r  Continuous 

Demand 

J  Seasonal 

(^Competition 

The 

advertise- 
ment 


^Mediums 


Personal  Salesmanship 
.and  Advertising  Combined 


Advertis-       rMaterial 
able  J  Workmanship 

points  of       i  Serviceability 
Commodity   (.Price,    etc. 

(-Type 
Borders 
Arrangement 
Emphasis 
Technique    J  Headings 
of  Adver-     ")  Illustrations 
tisements         Size  of  space 
insertion 
Frequency  of 
Layouts,  etc. 


"Magazines 

Newspapers 

Posters 

Car  Cards 

Circulaifs 
^Letters,  etc. 


24  ADVERTISING 

ered  in  their  relation  to  the  other  problems  of  a  business  or- 
ganization, at  least  so  far  as  the  general  policy  is  concerned. 

Definition  of  Advertising.  In  order  that  we  may  obtain 
a  systematic  view  of  the  whole  mass  of  problems,  let  us  inquire 
what  the  function  of  advertising  is.  Then  we  may  accordingly 
group  these  problems  under  the  various  functions  that  a  suc- 
cessful advertisement  is  intended  to  perform. 

Of  course  the  prime  object  of  commercial  advertising  is  to 
sell.  In  some  instances  the  immediate  object  may  be  some- 
thing else,  such  as  to  cause  people  to  make  inquiry  about  an 
article,  to  ask  for  a  booklet,  or  to  create  a  general  desire,  but 
it  takes  very  little  analysis  to  recognize  that  the  aim,  either 
immediate  or  remote,  is  to  sell.  There  are  other  forms  of  ad- 
vertising besides  commercial,  as  for  example,  political  adver- 
tising in  which  the  candidate  for  office  is  advertising  his  quali- 
fications for  the  office.  Still  other  forms  of  advertising  con- 
sist in  the  announcement  of  an  event  such  as  the  time,  place, 
and  nature  of  a  public  gathering.  In  view  of  these  various 
forms  of  advertising  it  is  difficult  to  formulate  an  all-inclusive 
definition.  To  comprehend  all  the  different  types,  we  may 
define  advertising  as  (the  presentation  of  a  proposition  to  the 
people,  usually  through-print,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  attempt 
to  induce  them  to  act  upon  that  proposition.\T]ie  business  man 
tries  to  present  his  commodity  in  a  manner  that  will  induce 
people  to  buy  it.  The  candidate  for  office  tries  to  present  his 
qualifications  in  such  a  manner  that  voters  will  be  induced  to 
vote  for  him.  A  public  gathering  is  announced  so  that  peo- 
ple will  be  induced  to  attend  it.  In  any  instance,  advertising 
consists  in  offering  a  proposition  so  that  people  will  be  induced 
to  react  favorably  upon  it.  Commercial  advertising,  with 
which  we  are  here  concerned,  is  the  offering  of  a  commodity, 
usually  through  print,  in  such  a  mxinner  that  the  public  may 
he  induced  to  buy  it. 

Functions  of  an  Advertisement.  Further  analysis  shows 
that  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  ultimate  aim  an  advertise- 
ment has  three  chief  functions :  to  attract  attention,  to  stimu- 
late interest,  and  to  secure  a  response.    Obviously,  the  first 


PBOBLEMS  OF  ADVERTISING  25 

thing  an  advertisement  must  do  is  to  secure  attention,  to  be 
noticed  by  the  public.  This  may  involve  nothing  more  than 
the  arresting  of  the  reader's  eye.  Second,  it  is  not  enough 
merely  to  catch  the  eye;  the  advertisement  must  interest  the 
reader  at  first  glance  to  such  an  extent  that  he  will  read  and 
examine  it.  In  the  third  place,  it  must  impress  him  so  that 
he  will  react  favorably  upon  the  advertisement  either  im- 
mediately or  at  a  later  time. 

These  three  functions  overlap  more  or  less.  If  the  adver- 
tisement has  favorably  attracted  attention  it  has  taken  a  long 
step  toward  persuading  the  reader.  If  it  has  interested  him  it 
has  taken  a  still  longer  step  toward  leading  him  to  purchase. 
But  for  the  sake  of  analytic  clearness  we  must  consider  these 
functions  separately,  realizing  all  the  while  that  they  inter- 
mesh  everywhere. 

This  threefold  purpose  furnishes  the  most  convenient  basis 
for  systematically  classifying  the  numerous  and  detailed 
problems  of  advertising  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter. 

First,  the  securing  of  attention,  or  the  placing  of  the  ad- 
vertisement before  the  public,  may  be  accomplished  by  the 
following  means: 

1.  By  the  size  of  the  advertisement  itself  and  by  the  size  of 
the  print  in  the  display  lines. 

2.  By  novel  and  unusual  features  in  the  make-up  of  the 
advertisement. 

3.  By  proper  emphasis  and  the  avoidance  of  counter- 
attraction  with  other  advertisements  and  among  the  parts  of 
the  advertisement  itself. 

4.  By  arresting  the  movement  of  the  eyes,  through  borders, 
type,  etc. 

5.  By  placing  the  advertisement  in  position  seen  easily  and 
frequently. 

6.  By  placing  the  advertisement  in  mediums  that  reach  the 
desired  class  of  people. 

Second,  interest  in  the  contents  of  the  advertisement  may 
be  aroused  by  the  following  means : 


26  ADVERTISING 

1.  By  interesting  headlines. 

2.  By  interesting  illustration. 

3.  By  text  and  arguments  that  are  terse,  pointed,  and  full 
of  news. 

4.  By  making  the  advertisement  timely. 

5.  By  making  the  advertisement  easily  comprehensible. 

6.  By  making  the  typography  inviting  to  read. 

7.  By  making  the  advertisement  inviting  in  appearance 
and  artistic  in  its  make-up. 

Third,  a  response  may  be  secured  by  the  following  means : 

1.  By  creating  a  reasoned  conviction. 

2.  By  directly  or  indirectly  suggesting  action  and  response. 

3.  By  appealing  to  and  stimulating  natural  inborn  desires 
of  response  and  action. 

A  fourth  function  might  possibly  be  added,  namely,  that 
on  advertisement  should  be  remembered.  But  obviously  that 
is  not  necessarily  a  universal  function,  since  many  types  of 
advertisements  aim  to  secure  an  immediate  response.  Of 
course,  the  majority  of  advertisements  aim  to  make  a  per- 
manent impression  on  the  memory.  At  any  rate,  the  chief 
principles  of  securing  remembrance  are  similar  to  the  princi- 
ples of  securing  attention  and  interest.  That  which  makes  a 
deep  impression,  or  arouses  intense  interest,  is  quite  apt  to 
be  remembered. 

Advertising  and  Psychology.  From  this  analysis  it  will 
readily  be  seen  that  the  ultimate  basis  of  advertising, — the 
"why"  and  the  "how"  of  specific  problems, — lies  in  an  under- 
standing of  human  nature.  All  advertising  problems  are  sub- 
sidiary, in  the  last  analysis,  to  the  one  main  question,  namely : 
By  what  means  and  in  what  way  may  the  mind  of  the  poten- 
tial customer  be  influenced  most  effectively?  Such  questions 
as,  What  is  the  most  appropriate  headline?  What  is  the 
most  attractive  form  ?  What  are  the  most  pulling  arguments 
and  points?  What  is  the  most  effective  way  of  expressing 
them?  What  is  the  best  style  of  type?  What  are  the  most 
suitable  mediums?  What  will  arouse  attention  to,  and  inter- 
est in,  a  given  proposition?    What  is  most  apt  to  secure  re- 


PROBLEMS  OF  ADVERTISING  27 

sponse?  and  the  like,  find  their  ultimate  answers  in  the  light 
of  how  they  will  influence  people,  and,  in  particular,  the  class 
of  people  to  be  reached  in  any  particular  campaign. 

The  principles  of  advertising,  therefore,  are  based,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  upon  psychology.  Broadly  defined, 
psychology  is  the  scientific  study  of  human  nature,  of  human 
behavior,  of  the  functions  and  laws  of  mental  life.  Its  central 
question  is.  How  does  the  mind  work?  To  know  how  to  in- 
fluence human  beings,  one  should  know  the  workings  and 
laws  of  human  behavior. 


PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  If  you  were  to  prepare  an  advertisement,  for  example,  of  an 
article  of  food,  what  facts  would  it  be  important  for  you  to  know? 
Make  as  complete  and  systematic  an  analysis  as  you  can  of  all  points 
involved.  To  bring  the  force  of  this  problem  fully  before  you,  construct 
an  advertisement  of  baked  beans  as  well  as  you  can,  and  make  your 
analysis  in  connection  with  it. 

2.  What  is  the  difference  between  advertising  and  publicity?  Define 
each  and  show  that  the  former  includes  more  than  the  latter. 

3.  What  are  the  differences  and  the  similarities  between  advertising 
and  personal  salesmanship?  In  what  respects  are  the  steps  in  a  personal 
sale  similar  to  the  steps  in  a  sale  through  advertising? 

4.  If  psychology  is  the  science  of  human  behavior,  show  that  the 
principles  on  which  advertising  is  based  are  psychological. 

5.  To  which  of  the  ordinary  mental  processes,  such  as  attention, 
imagination,  memory,  reasoning,  suggestion;  imitation,  feelings,  emotions, 
will,  etc.,  does  advertising  appeal  most?    Give  examples. 

6.  In  which  is  the  advertiser  more  interested,  in  the  characteristics 
and  laws  (mental  and  social)  of  communities  and  classes  of  persons,  or 
in  the  idiosyncrasies  of  individuals?  Illustrate  your  answer  in  adver- 
tising, for  example,  an  article  of  clothing. 

7.  As  accurately  as  you  can  analyze,  to  what  extent  are  you  influ- 
enced by  advertisements?  Concretely,  can  you  give  illustrations  of  pur- 
chases you  have  made  in  which  you  were  influenced  (1)  entirely  by 
advertising,  (2)  partly  by  advertising? 

8.  Study  the  campaign  of  Instant  Coffee  cited  in  this  chapter.  Make 
an  analysis  and  a  list  of  the  chief  problems  that  had  to  be  met  and  state 
how  they  were  met.  Distinguish  between  the  problems  that  relate  more 
strictly  to  advertising  and  those  that  relate  to  the  whole  field  of  mer- 


28  ADVERTISING 

chandising.     Do  you  see  any  weaknesses  in  the  campaign?     Were  the 
problems  solved  in  the  best  way! 

Can  you  show  in  what  way  the  problems  here  involved  are  funda- 
mentally psychological? 

Note.  The  usefulness  of  this  book  as  a  text  will  be  greatly  increased 
if  it  is  possible  for  the  instructor  to  make  an  arrangement  with  mer- 
chants and  business  houses  whereby  each  student  can  make  an  intimate 
study  of  the  advertising  of  a  given  firm,  and  to  have  the  student  prepare 
the  advertising  for  that  house  during  the  entire  time  of  the  course. 
The  problems  at  the  end  of  the  various  chapters  could  be  correlated 
with  that  work.  This  would  gjve  actual  contact  with  and  real  practice 
in  carrying  out  the  principles  set  forth.  If  the  work  is  done  intelligently 
and  tactfully,  business  men  are  glad  to  make  such  arrangements. 


CHAPTER  III 

ATTEACTING  ATTENTION:  BEACHING  THE  PEOPLE 

Necessity  of  Securing  Attention.  Under  this  head  we 
shall  consider  the  first  elementary  function  which  every  ad- 
vertisement must  perform,  namely  that  of  arresting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader.  In  colloquial  terms,  whatever  else  an  ad- 
vertisement must  do,  first  of  all  it  must  catch  the  reader 's  eye. 
No  matter  how  effective  and  pointed  the  text  of  the  advertise- 
ment may  be,  if  it  remains  unnoticed  it  is  wasted.  Many  an 
otherwise  excellent  advertisement  is  a  loss  simply  because  it 
fails  to  be  noticed.  On  the  other  hand,  an  advertisement  must 
not  spend  all  its  substance  on  securing  the  reader 's  attention ; 
it  must  also  have  something  to  offer  after  the  attention  has 
been  arrested.  But  the  vital  point  remains  that  the  securing 
of  attention  is  an  indispensable  function,  as  can  be  abun- 
dantly shown  by  campaign  results  as  well  as  experimental 
tests.    • 

In  a  recent  investigation  a  tabulation  was  made  of  all  the 
firms  advertising  with  full  pages  in  the  year  1890  in  two  stand- 
ard magazines.  These  advertisements  were  then  classified 
into  three  groups  according  as  their  attention-values  were 
judged  to  be  good,  fair,  or  poor.  Then  the  advertising  sections 
of  the  same  two  magazines  for  the  year  1910  were  searched  to 
find  which  ones  of  these  firms  were  still  advertising  in  them. 
The  investigation  brought  the  results  in  the  following  table : 


Number  of  Firms 

Using  Full  Pages 

IN  1890 


Number  of  These: 

Firms  Left 

IN  1910 


Attention-value  good. 
Attention-value  fair. . 
Attention -value  poor. 


35 
30 
32 


17  or  49^ 
5  or  17^ 
5  or  16^ 


Hence  approximately  three  times  as  many  firms  whose  ad- 
vertisements had  high  attention-value  as  firms .  whose  adver- 

29 


30  ADVERTISING 

tisements  had  inferior  attention-value  were  still  advertising 
in  the  same  mediums  twenty  years  later.  While  these  figures 
do  not  absolutely  prove  the  point  in  favor  of  the  attention-com- 
pelling advertisements,  they  have,  nevertheles3,  considerable 
weight.  There  are  many  obvious  reasons,  besides  inefficient 
advertising,  why  a  firm  might  not  be  advertising  in  the  same 
mediums  twenty  years  later.  The  mediums  might  not  have 
been  suitable  for  its  products,  or  the  business  might  have 
been  discontinued,  or  the  product  might  have  been  in  demand 
only  temporarily,  or  the  methods  of  selling  might  have  been 
changed.  Nevertheless,  these  figures  have  a  strong  corrobo- 
rating force  in  favor  of  the  greater  efficiency  of  properly  con- 
structed advertisements. 

Testing  the  Attention- Value  of  Advertisements.  The  dif- 
ferences in  mere  attention-value  among  advertisements  even 
in  a  first-class  medium  are  extremely  large.  To  obtain  a 
measure  of  such  differences  the  following  test  was  made.  The 
plan  used  obviously  is  not  free  from  shortcomings,  but  it  prob- 
ably gives  a  fair  estimate  of  attention-value.  This  test  was 
made  with  several  purposes  in  view,  and  will  be  referred  to 
later  as  the  "magazine  test." 

A  copy  of  a  magazine  {Cosmopolitan,  April,  1910,  or 
Everybody's,  March,  1909)  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  each  of 
374  persons  for  the  purpose  of  examining  its  advertising  sec- 
tion. These  persons  were  instructed  to  read  what  they  liked 
and  to  skip  what  thej/^iked,  but  to  turn  every  leaf  of  the 
advertising  section.  Fiiteen  minutes  were  allowed  for  this 
purpose,  after  which  each  one  was  asked  to  write  down  all  the 
advertisements  he  remembered  having  seen.  In  the  test  284 
persons  were  given  the  Cosmopolitan  and  90  were  given 
Everybody's.  A  table  was  then  prepared  to  show  the  num- 
ber of  times  each  advertisement  had  been  mentioned.  Selected 
samples  of  full-page  advertisements  treated  in  this  table, 
together  with  the  number  of  times  each  was  mentioned,  are 
given  in  the  accompanying  illustrations.  Figures  3  to  14. 

Several  points  of  criticism  of  this  method  of  testing  the 
attention- value ,  of   advertisements   should   be   noticed   here. 


ATTRACTING  ATTENTION 


31 


Figure  3     (131) 


Figure  4     (94) 


NAB 


Figure  5     (U-) 


SUGAR  WAFERS 

It  is  in  the  nice  details  of  dessert  ser- 
irice  that  artistic  originality  is  discovered. 

The  dessert  suggestion  illustrated 
presents  one  of  the  myriad  possibilities 
of  Nabisco.  Sugar  Wafers  as  auxiliaries 
to  ices,  creams  or  sherbets. 

Ai  Itm  eeat  Itnm 

NATIONAL  BISCUIT   COMPANY 


Figure  6     (80) 


The  numbers  at  the  bottom  of  Figs,  3-14  indicate  the  relative 

attention-value  of  these   advertisements   as   determined  by  the 

test  described  on  page  30.     The  larger  the  number,  the  greater 

the  attention-value 


82 


ADVERTISING 


FlGtTRE  7      (79) 


Figure  8     (74) 


Style  V 


The  World's  Best  Piano 


Figure  9     (59) 


Itnnual  Special  Sale 

Ostermoor  Mattress 

'■'St:':^l 

»30. 

1 

mmmmmmmj^^^ 

— 

W»<«W.,    «     :        ■ 

i.' 

Price -^ISS  Each 

ir... 

Jl^ 

g^fH:: 

---  --f!MLal 

Figure  10     (48) 


A  study  of  these  advertisements  will  reveal  some  striking 
differences  in  their  construction  and  mode  of  appeal,  such  as 
the  use  of  illustrations,  text,  type,  contrast,  and  borders.  These 
and  other  factors  account  for  the  variations  in  attention-value 


ATTRACTING  ATTENTION 


33 


I(  hoMsnti^ft  Ovfc hundnxl  Hndwtip-five  dnysintfap  vrer 

iMraieta^  wttb  refamoe  ea  dke  tenrice  tiw  cnr  >  intenJed  to 
ft  tfunfe  the  BMniinwn  trf 

COMRMtT.  Smi  Mai  DEPCNDABOin 
sraoAui  isnmom.  oo.  &:■  nmi  kkd.  bid. 


We  Sppnd  UnsM>n 
Thousands 


!-^.  <  HJ-f^ll-t 


iHoleprooftjosiery 


CUt€.yott>i  M^6e,aJlmAu^tu£9 


X    ..t^i.^.w 


Figure  12     (30) 


Did  Too  Ever  See  a  Tired  SHOP  GIRL? 
Or  a  Worn  Out  ERRAND  BOY? 


— a.wu.irfWoi*.i*i.ii^.ii»i>...jju..».jh.»CTt. 

/liwi    ■'■■■^  yj^j**  i'j*  y**  «■  WMI    fcii«  to  |M)rdK  pm  «l 

»l»l~irfl».cjil    111'    I.  <»■=*»  t.dJt«.ii*.»».t  »< 
■l'i*lK«*nmniMlaa^MroM,wk(i  Ikqr  km  to  p^. «  Bcnir  Idk* 
»Ac<,»rl|HiiiiiiiiLi,»liil-.i^»    N.)    Vi<»^xl 
«  i»J  I-  71.  Ti  ■  II  t.»  >«»»»«.  &at»  —  —  NOW— TO. 
DAY.    Y..i>iSb...  ii  toiT^ln.^  b  to.la.to>»itopiii.. 

JtAn.-    IPkAs, 


The  Equtable  Life  Assurance  Sooctt 

OP   TU  twns  STATD 

"Strongest  in  the  WoAi" 

ntf     I     |.fafc|.y.fc<i^<li^M*«^* *!■ 

rin  aotna.  msun  m  BaAinuT,  nw  nn  air 


wrraon  nmwimm  N«iBKiwi.«>  i^B^aM 


Right  Painting 
Preserves  Property 


<o(<»ir 

Rfr»it  flier  form  a  pcHect  union  and,  whoi 
mlBd.  tuw«  dtc  quality  ol  pcnctTalin(  the  Mr- 
iaot  covcnd  and  bcconinc  a  part  d  k.  Such 
pajal  nncr  cracks  or  acaka.    It  wears  down 

lof  wtfioui  Kraplnc  or 

oBlfacdtat 

«.  Ub  National  Laail  Caifttrft  pen  wMk  lead  (*Di>>dl 

hot  Ptkttr"  tradenafk),  Kaw  il  iBbad  wall  puce  Biiiiiiil  od, 

and  T«w  panniac  ««(  be  ii'ieeiiii  al  bacauae  k  wd  latt.    h 

vfl  afao  k  kautiiul.    Aik  the  paitMr  who  takes  pride  fa  lA 

laijuehai  it  ihii  is  pol  true.    He  knows. 

C  Nabonal  Lead  Caa^aoi't  pwe«  wfaae  lead  is  Ae  bed  known 

and  enjoys  tin  tartest  sale  in  Ac  srarid.    It  is  exacdy  wfait  w« 

sar  I!  it — piae  whUe  lead  eoBSafcllnf  m  duk  barylts  or  any  of 

4.  H  TOn  peine  dbr  war  T«»  seam  boA  beauir  and  durahktr- 
WrIK  o  fce  our -DoKli  Bor  Patat  AdAle  No.  Z.-  Oanplea 
Fret 


t  ready  ior  tepaim. 


NATIONAL  LEAD  COMPANY 


FlGUKE   13      (20) 


Figure  14     (2) 


Differences  in  familiarity  and  reputation  of  the  various  adver- 
tisements used  in  this  test  were  eliminated,  as  far  as  possible, 
by  the  method  explained  in  the  text,  p.  34 


34  ADVERTISING 

An  advertisement,  aside  from  its  attractiveness,  might  have 
been  mentioned  by  many,  because  it  was  familiar,  because  it 
was  located  on  the  outside  cover,  or  because  it  had  a  special 
interest.  To  eliminate  the  advantage  of  location,  none  of  the 
advertisements  in  preferred  positions  were  included  in  the 
present  tabulation.  To  eliminate  the  force  of  familiarity, 
each  participant  in  the  test  was  asked  at  another  time  to  write 
down  all  brands  of  articles  he  was  acquainted  with,  through 
advertising,  use,  or  otherwise.  The  number  of  times  each  com- 
modity was  thus  mentioned  was  deducted  from  the  number  of 
times  it  was  mentioned  in  the  ' '  magazine  test. ' '  For  example, 
the  Old  Dutch  Cleanser  advertisement  was  mentioned  219 
times  in  the  test  and  88  times  in  the  enumeration  for  famili- 
arity, leaving  131  mentions  due  chiefly  to  the  attention- 
compelling  construction  of  the  advertisement.  The  numbers 
given  in  the  illustrations  have  all  been  corrected  in  this  man- 
ner and  probably  represent  fairly  correctly  the  pure  atten- 
tion-value of  these  advertisements.  A  comparison  of  their 
relative  ranks  and  their  various  make-ups  shows  interesting 
differences  which  evidently  explain  why  some  catch  the 
reader's  eye  more  readily  than  others  do. 

For  a  psychological  description  of  the  nature  and  laws 
of  attention,  the  reader  may  consult  the  standard  treatises  on 
psychology.^  It  will  be  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  to 
note  that  the  word  ''attention"  will  be  used  in  the  ordinary 
current  sense  of  the  focal  point  of  mental  activity. 

DiflSculty  of  Attracting  Attention  Today.  Several  fac- 
tors have  tended  to  make  the  task  of  securing  attention  to  a 
commodity  a  more  difficult  one  today  than  fifty  years  ago, 
when  advertising  was  in  its  comparative  infancy.  It  is,  there- 
fore, all  the  more  important  to  study  thoroughly  this  aspect 
of  our  subject,  namely,  the  methods  and  principles  of  reach- 
ing the  potential  customer.  Among  the  most  important  fac- 
tors which  make  the  problem  of  securing  attention  a  difficult 
one  today,  we  may  mention  the  following  five: 

1.  For  example,  Angell,  Psychology,  Ch.  4,  James,  Psychology,  Ch.  13, 
nilsbury,  Easenttala  of  Psychology,  Cb.  5. 


ATTRACTING  ATTENTION  35 

(1)  Hasty  Reading.  In  the  first  place,  the  tremendous 
volume  of  printed  matter  that  has  literally  flooded  the  land 
has  developed  a  more  hasty  reading  habit.  Half  a  century 
ago  the  typical  home  had  one  or  two  magazines  which  were 
read  thoroughly  from  cover  to  cover.  The  same  home  today 
has  perhaps  half  a  dozen  magazines  which  are  skimmed  more 
or  less  superficially.  Newspapers,  too,  were  formerly  few  and 
small,  and  their  advertisements  were  therefore  quite  certain 
to  be  read. 

(2)  Increase  in  Number  of  Mediums.  While  we  have  no 
experimental  or  statistical  data  to  prove  greater  hastiness  in 
reading,  yet  the  inevitable  effect  of  the  large  masses  of  printed 
matter  has  been  to  change  our  habit  of  reading.  The  follow- 
ing table  shows  the  astounding  increase  in  the  number  of 
magazines  and  newspapers  since  the  early  sixties. 

NuMBEB  OF  Magazines  AND  Newspafers  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.' 

1861 5203  1891 18,536 

1871 6056  1896 19,760 

1876 8129  1901 20,879 

1881 10,267  1906 22,326 

1886 14,160  1911 24,235 

During  the  same  period  the  population  has  grown  from  ap- 
proximately 31  millions  to  90  millions.  Thus,  while  the  popu- 
lation has  increased  only  threefold,  the  number  of  magazines 
and  newspapers  has  increased  nearly  fivefold. 

(3)  Growth  in  Circulation.  A  third  factor  in  the  growth 
of  advertisement  matter  is  the  tremendous  increase  in  the 
circulation  of  most  of  the  publications.  To  mention  a  few 
examples:  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  has  a  circulation 
of  over  two  millions.  In  1897  its  circulation  was  only  3000. 
Collier's  Weekly  has  a  circulation  of  about  645,000.  Every- 
body's has  a  circulatioii  of  650,000  (Mahin's  Advertising 
Data  Book,  1912).  In  1884  the  circulation  of  the  Ladies' 
Home  Journal  was  about  25,000.  Today  it  is  nearly  1,750,000. 
From  1900  to  1910  the  total  circulation  of  the  sixty  leading^ 

1.  Based  on  N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son's  American  Newspaper  Annual  and 
Directory. 

2.  As  listed  in  the  tables  published  at  regular  intervals  in  Printer's  Ink. 


36 


ADVEBTISING 


national  periodicals  has  doubled.  In  1912  their  combined  cir- 
culation was  21  millions.  Among  newspapers,  the  distribu- 
tion of  some  of  the  metropolitan  dailies  is  very  large.  For 
example,  the  Chicago  Tribune  has  a  distribution  of  about 
240,000  copies,  the  New  York  Herald  100,000,  the  New  York 
Sun  90,000,  and  the  New  York  Tribune  92,000.  According 
to  F.  Hudson  {Journalism  in  America,  page  525)  the  New 
York  papers  mentioned  here  had  in  1842  an  estimated  cir- 
culation of  15,000,  20,000,  and  9500  respectively. 

(4)  Increase  in  Firms  Advertising.  In  the  fourth  place, 
there  has  been  a  manifold  increase  in  the  number  of  firms 
using  the  advertising  mediums,  all  bidding  for  the  reader's 
attention.  From  the  following  table^  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  were  more  than  five  times  as  many  firms  advertising 
in  the  Century  Magazine  in  the  year  1907  as  there  were 
in  the  year  1870.  The  same  relative  increase  holds  for 
nearly  all  other  standard  advertising  mediums. 


1 

Total  Number  op  Pages 
OP  Commercial  Adver- 
tising FOR  Each  Year 
IN  THE  Century  Magazine. 

Total  Nu&  3er  of  Differ- 
ent Firms  Advertising 
During  Each  Year  in 
the  Century  Magazine. 

Average       Number       of 
Lines    Used    by    Each 
Advertiser  During  the 
Twelve  Months  in  the 
Century  Magazine. 

Average       Number      op 
Lines  in  Each  Adver- 
tisement Appearing  in 
THE     Century     Magazine 
for  THE  Year  Indicated 

Average       Number      op 
Times  Each   Firm  Ad- 
vertised   During    the 
Year    in    the    Century 
Magazine. 

1870 

33 

231 

244 

446 

1061 

902 

946 

1198 

1056 

800 

888 

906 

790 

702 

632 

66 
318 
293 
662 
910 
638 
489 
393 
364 

113 
162 
186 
150 
261 
317 
433 
683 
650 

1875 

31 

61 

43 

50 

61 

88 

114 

151 

131 

145 

159 

154 

157 

169 

5.65 

1880 

3.04 

1835 

3.51 

1890 

4.50 

1895 

5.13 

1900 

4.90 

1905 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

5.09 
4.30 

1913        .... 

1.  Abbreviated    from   the   table   on    p.    183,    Psychology   of  Advertiaing, 
W.  D.  Scott.     The  figures  since  1907  have  been  added  by  the  author. 


ATTRACTING  ATTENTION  37 

(5)  Increase  in  Size  of  Mediums.  In  the  fifth  place,  not 
only  has  reading  become  more  "skimming"  and  the  number 
of  advertisers  greatly  increased,  but,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
latter  fact,  the  total  advertising  space  of  all  kinds  has  mani- 
folded even  more  rapidly.  From  the  table  just  referred  to, 
column  two,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  Century  Magazine 
carried  just  thirty-two  times  as  many  pages  of  advertisements 
in  1907  as  in  1870.  Metropolitan  newspapers  have  increased 
from  four  and  eight  pages  to  sixteen,  twenty-four,  and 
thirty-two  pages. 

Better  Advertising  Today.  These  conditions  are  partly 
offset  today  by  the  more  general  habit  of  reading  advertise- 
ments, by  the  greater  confidence  which  people  have  in  adver- 
tising, by  the  better  methods  of  advertising,  by  a  more  thor- 
ough understanding  of  its  principles,  and  by  the  introduction 
of  classified  advertisements  which  give  the  small  advertiser  a 
better  chance.  The  general  public  has  been  educated  to  read 
advertisements  and  to  believe  in  their  reliability,  because  of 
the  honesty  of  nearly  all  advertising  in  high  class  periodicals. 
In  its  early  days,  advertising  largely  dealt  with  patent  medi- 
cines. There  were  no  standards  of  discrimination  as  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  advertisements  or  the  responsibility  of  the 
firms  back  of  them.  Today  the  high  grade  mediums  are  al- 
most entirely  free  from  unreliable  forms  of  publicity.  This 
condition  has  been  a  powerful  factor  in  making  advertising 
more  effective.  A  fuller  discussion  of  this  topic  will  be  taken 
up  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  vital  question  now  is,  How  may  an  advertisement  be 
constructed  and  placed  in  mediums  so  that  it  will  receive  the 
greatest  attention  from  the  largest  number  of  desirable  read- 
ers? We  shall  accordingly  proceed  to  examine  in  detail  the 
methods  and  conditions  of  accomplishing  this  end. 


38  ADVERTISING 


PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  If  the  greater  number  of  advertising  mediums  and  the  greater 
number  of  advertisers  today  tend  to  make  it  more  diflScult  for  individual 
advertisements  to  be  noticed,  what  conditions  are  present  today  which 
counteract  these  difficulties? 

2.  Obtain  one  advertisement  which  in  your  opinion »lias  high  atten- 
tion-value, and  one  which  possesses  low  attention-value.  State  why  you 
regard  them  so. 

3.  What  is  the  difference  between  securing  the  attention  and  secur- 
ing the  interest  of  the  reader  in  an  advertisement!  Obtain  an  advertise- 
ment which  might  do  the  latter  but  not  the  former. 

4.  Three  types  of  attention  are  generally  recognized:  Involuntary 
(or  spontaneous),  voluntary  or  active,  and  non-voluntary  or  absorbed 
interest.  To  which  type  of  attention  does  advertising  mostly  appeal! 
Why?  On  which  type  of  attention  do  classified  advertisements  mostly 
depend?  Compare  as  fully  as  you  can  the  manner  of  appeal  of  the 
classified,  with  the  manner  of  appeal  of  the  usual  display  advertisement. 

5.  Glance  through  the  advertising  section  of  a  magazine  in  the 
usual  manner.  Then  analyze  the  ten  or  twelve  advertisements  which 
attracted  you  most,  to  find  out  why  they  interested  you.  State  the 
reasons  and  factors  involved.  Notice  also  whether  any  of  tliem  use  poor 
methods  of  securing  attention.    State  why. 

6.  Criticize  the  method  described  in  this  chapter  for  testing  the 
attention-value  of  advertisements. 


CHAPTER   IV 
DISPLAY  TYPE:   ITS  ATTENTION- VALUE  AND  USE 

The  Display  Words  as  Means  of  Arresting  Attention. 

The  earliest  and  most  obvious  device  for  attracting  the 
reader 's  attention  has  been  to  print  a  few  words  of  the  adver- 
tisement in  large,  heavy  type.  These  stimulate  a  larger  area 
on  the  retina  of  the  eye  and  so  attract  attention  more  readily. 
This  device,  however,  is  only  one  particular  example  among 
many  based  upon  the  general  principle  of  attracting  atten- 
tion, known  as  the  law  of  intensity.  This  law  must  be  studied 
in  connection  with  many  practical  problems  of  advertising, 
notably  (a)  in  the  use  of  display  type  and  (b)  in  the  use  of 
different  sizes  of  space  for  advertisements. 

The  law  of  intensity,  stated  in  general  terms,  is,  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  duration  and  the  degree  of  atten- 
tion depend  upon  the  intensity  of  the  stimulus.  A  loud  sound, 
a  strong  light,  a  large  object,  or  a  pungent  odor  arouses  the 
attention  more  easily  and  more  surely  than  a  weak  sound, 
a  faint  light,  a  small  object,  or  a  mild  odor.  Powerful 
stimuli  impress  the  sense  organs  with  much  greater  effect  than 
do  weak  stimuli.  This  law  of  intensity  is  a  broad  biological 
principle  deeply  ingrained  in  human  nature.  A  strong  stim- 
ulus to  an  animal  as  w^ell  as  to  a  man,  particularly  in  primitive 
conditions  of  life,  means  a  warning  signal  and  therefore  some- 
thing to  be  heeded. 

To  demonstrate  the  strength  of  this  law,  an  experiment 
was  performed  by  exposing  for  a  short  interval  of  time  a  card 
upon  which  twenty-five  words  had  been  printed.  Five  words, 
scattered  among  the  rest,  were  printed  in  type  approximately 
twice  as  large  as  the  other  twenty.    This  card  was  exposed  to 

39 


40  ADVERTISING 

twenty-two  persons,  with  the  following  results: 

LabgeTypb  Shall  Ttpe 

Number  of  words  shown ; 5  20 

Total  noticed  by  22  persons 60  48 

Average  noticed  per  person 2.7  2.2 

Percentage  noticed  per  person 54%  11% 

Thus  we  see  that  the  words  printed  in  large  type  had 
about  five  times  as  much  attention- value  as  the  words  printed 
in  small  type, — 54%  as  compared  with  11%. 

We  will  now  consider  in  detail  the  applications  of  this  law 
to  the  use  of  display  type  in  the  construction  of  advertise- 
ments. The  chief  practical  questions  are:  Is  the  attention- 
value  directly  proportional  to  the  size  of  the  type?  Is  there 
a  limit  to  the  desirable  size  of  type  ?  What  is  the  best  size  of 
display  type  to  use  in  a  given  advertisement? 

That  large-type  headlines  have  greater  attention-value 
than  small-type  headlines  has  generally  been  recognized  as 
advertising  has  developed.  In  evidence  of  this  point  let  us 
notice  the  following  two  entirely  different  sets  of  data. 

Increase  in  Size  of  Display  Type  Used.  Since  the  early 
beginnings  of  advertising  in  this  country,  larger  and  larger 
display  type  has  been  used.  If  one  turns  back  to  the  early 
magazines,  one  is  struck  with  the  small  headlines  then  in  use. 
In  order  to  verify  this  general  impression,  the  author  meas- 
ured the  height  of  the  headlines  in  the  full-page  advertise- 
ments in  two  standard  magazines  {Scrihner's  and  Harper's) 
at  intervals  of  ten  years  since  1870.  The  average  for  each 
year  was  computed  as  shown  in  the  following  table : 

Year  Average  Height 

1870 6.6  millimeters  or  approximately  24-point  type^ 

1880 7.2  millimeters  or  approximately  26-point  type 

1890 9.7  millimeters  or  approximately  30-point  type 

1900 11.3  millimeters  or  approximately  40-point  type 

1910 12.4  millimeters  or  approximately  48-point  type 

It  will  be  noticed  from  the  table  that  there  has  been  a 
steady  increase  in  the  size  of  display  type.  However,  it 
would  seem  that  the  maximum  size  of  display  type  for  a 

1.  For  examples  of  the  "point"  system  of  tneasaring  type,  see  Appendix. 


DISPLAY  TYPE  41 

magazine  page  has  now  been  reached.  Headlines  larger  than 
48  points,  or  possibly  72  points  (which  rarely  occur),  would 
seem  out  of  proportion  on  an  ordinary  magazine  page  held  at 
the  natural  reading  distance.  The  table  also  indicates  that  the 
most  rapid  increase  took  place  from  1880  to  1900,  the  period 
of  most  rapid  development  in  American  advertising.  More 
firms  began  to  use  advertising  during  this  period  than  during 
any  preceding  period  of  equal  length. 

The  apparent  implication  seems  to  be  that  larger  display 
type,  because  of  its  greater  attention-value,  has  made  the 
advertisements  more  effective  and  so  has  come  into  more 
general  usage.  Like  many  other  psychological  principles, 
this  one  has  unconsciously  worked  itself  out  in  the  course  of 
practical  experience  and  observation.  Of  course  the  tendency 
does  not  absolutely  prove  the  principle.  A  common  usage 
may  sometimes  be  a  common  error.  But  considering  that  the 
tendency  has  been  constant  for  so  many  years  and  that  other 
facts  point  in  the  same  direction,  the  above  table  furnishes 
an  interesting  corroboration  of  the  principle  under  discussion. 

Testing  the  Attention- Value  of  Display  Type.  The  sec- 
ond set  of  data  is  derived  from  the  experimental  investigation 
referred  to  in  the  last  chapter  as  the  magazine  test.  From 
these  results  the  accompanying  table  was  prepared  to  show 


Height  of  Type  in  the  Display 
Lines 

Average  Number  of  Times  Each 
Advertisement  was  Noticed 

6-7  millimeters 

8  -10  millimeters 

6 
11.4 

11-13  millimeters 

25.5 

the  number  of  times  each  full-page  advertisement  in  which 
no  illustration  appeared  had  been  noticed.  The  "all-text" 
advertisements  alone  were  used  because  the  object  was  to 
determine  the  attention-value  of  the  different  sized  display 
lines  in  advertisements  in  which  they  were  the  chief  means 
of  arresting  the  attention.  The  height  of  the  display  type 
in  these  advertisements  was  measured,  with  the  result  indi- 
cated above. 

There  is  obviously  a  regular  increase  in  attention-value 
with  the  increase  in  the  size  of  the  display  type.     The  last 


42 


ADVERTISING 


figure,  25.5,  however,  is  so  far  above  the  others  partly  because 
one  of  the  advertisements  in  that  group  was  an  unusually 
familiar  one. 

Mr.  Gale^  made  a  test  on  this  matter  several  years  ago 
by  exposing  cards  on  which  four  words  were  printed  in  four 
different  sizes  of  type.  These  cards  were  exposed  ten  times 
for  a  fractional  part  of  a  second,  to  each  of  fifteen  persons. 


Height  of  Type 

Percentage  of  the  Possible  Number 
OF  Times  the  Words  were  Noticed 

Men 

Women 

Average 

2  millimeters. 

8.7 
20.2 
27.7 
43.0 

11.6 
15.8 
27.5 
45.0 

10   1 

4  millimeters 

18.0 

5  millimeters 

27.6 

6  millimeters 

44.0 

These  measurements  likewise  show  a  regular  increase  in  atten- 
tion-value with  the  increase  in  size.  The  largest  type  was 
three  times  as  high  as  the  smallest  type.  It  was  noticed  over 
four  times  as  often. 

How  Large  Should  Display  Lines  Be?  Our  next  question 
is,  What  shall  determine  the  size  of  the  display  type  for  a 
given  advertisement?  The  answer  depends  on  several  con- 
siderations. First,  it  depends  on  whether  the  headline  is  to 
be  the  chief  means  of  attracting  attention,  or  whether  a  large 
illustration  is  to  be  used.  If  only  an  insignificant  illustration 
is  inserted,  the  heading  should,  as  a  rule,  be  larger  than  if  a 
prominent  one  is  used.  Again,  the  size  of  the  headline 
should  in  general  be  proportional  to  the  size  of  the  entire 
advertisement.  Thus,  a  full-page  advertisement  may  appro- 
priately have  a  heading  as  large  as  48-point  type,  or  possibly 
in  some  instances  72-point  type,  but  such  type  would  appear 
out  of  proportion  in  a  one-eighth  page  space.  In  so  far  as  it 
is  possible  to  state  any  general  rule  of  practice,  the  headings 
in  common  use  are  between  one-tenth  and  one-twentieth  of  the 
height  of  the  advertisement.  This  will  hold  only  for  the  ordi- 
nary, rectangular  shape  of  advertisement,  and  even  then 
there  are  wide  deviations. 

1.  Gale,  11.,  Psychological  Studies,  pp.  52-54. 


DISPLAY  TYPE 


43 


PKOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  two  illustrations,  not  from  advertising,  of  the  principle  of 
intensity  in  securing  attention. 

2.  What  is  the  application  of  this  principle  to  the  size  of  type  in 
advertisements?  What  other  considerations  besides  size  are  involved 
in  selecting  the  type  for  an  advertisement? 

3.  What  factors  enter  into  the  question  of  determining  the  proper 
size  of  type  for  a  headline?  For  example,  \\ovi  would  the  presence  or 
absence  of  illustrations  affect  the  problem?  What  conditions  limit  the 
size?  Obtain  an  advertisement  in  which  you  regard  the  type  of  the  "main 
headline  too  small,  and,  if  possible,  one  in  which  it  seems  too  large. 


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Enough  lamp  chimneys  { 

break  from  "accident" 

to  satisfy  me,  witiioiit 

having  them  crack  and 

smash  every  time  tlie^ 

light  is  tvirned  iij).        i 

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usefulness  of  the  lajnp — and  they  fit. 

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made   for   ever\'  known    burner,  and 

my  name  is  on  it. 

My  book  will  tell  which  one  to  get 
lor  your  lamp.     It  is  free.     Address; 

Macbeth,  Pittsburgh.- 
Figure  16 


4.  Suggest  improvements  in  the  size  of  the  different  display  lines 
appearing  in  the  advertisements  shown  in  Figures  15  and  16.  Reconstruct 
the  headings  by  modifying  the  size  or  by  inserting  or  omitting  display 
lines. 

5.  Type  sizes  are  expressed  in  terms  of  the  "point  system."  In 
this  system  72  points  equal  one  inch.  Thus  8-point  type,  set  solid,  is 
of  such  a  size  that  the  distance  from  the  bottom  of  one  line  of  print 
to  the  bottom  of  the  next  is  8/72  of  an  inch.  Hence  nine  lines  of  8-point 
type  occupy  one  inch.  The  designation  of  size  refers  to  the  body  of 
the  type  and  not  to  the  face  of  the  type.     If  the  type  is  not  set  solid. 


44  ADVEBTISING 

usually  2-point  leads  are  placed  between  the  lines.  In  this  case  only 
seven  lines  of  8-point  type  can  occupy  one  inch.  The  "agate  line" 
is  the  standard  unit  for  expressing  the  size  of  advertising  space.  It 
runs  fourteen  lines  to  the  inch.    That  is,  it  is  approximately  5-point  type. 

(1)  On  the  basis  of  these  data  construct  a  table  to  show  the  ap- 
proximate number  of  lines  to  the  inch  of  5,  6,  8,  10,  12,  14,  and  18-point 
type,  (a)  when  set  solid  and  (b)  when  leaded  with  2-point  leads. 

(2)  Compute  the  approximate  number  of  words  of  text  of  8-point 
type  set  solid  that  you  could  use  in  a  quarter-page  space  of  a  standard 
magazine,  size  5V^  x  8  inches.  Assume  that  half  of  the  entire  space 
is  to  be  occupied  by  a  cut  and  a  display  line. 

(3)  Obtain  one  advertisement  from  a  newspaper  and  another  from  a 
magazine,  and  indicate  in  the  margin,  in  terms  of  the  point  system,  the 
sizes  of  the  type  used.    See  Appendix  for  samples. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  SIZE  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS 

The  second  important  application  of  the  law  of  intensity 
relates  to  the  size  of  the  space  used  in  advertisements.  Aside 
from  minor  considerations,  such  as  the  use  of  illustrations, 
extensive  explanatory  text,  complexity  of  proposition,  funds 
available,  etc.,  the  prime  factor  in  determining  the  amount  of 
space  for  a  given  advertisement  is  the  relative  attention-value 
of  the  different  sizes  of  space. 

The  Problems  of  Size.  Tvro  practical  questions  must  be 
examined  at  this  point.  First:  Is  the  pure  attention-value 
directly  proportional  to  the  size  of  the  space  ?  That  is,  other 
things  being  equal,  does  a  half -page  advertisement  have  twice 
as  much  attention-value  as  a  quarter-page,  and  does  a  full- 
page  have  twice  as  much  attention-value  as  a  half -page  adver- 
tisement? Second:  What  are  the  various  factors  that  must 
be  considered  in  determining  the  size  of  a  single  advertise- 
ment, or  of  a  series  of  advertisements  for  a  given  campaign? 

In  considering  the  first  question  we  must  clearly  distin- 
guish between  the  various  problems  involved.  Whether  it  is 
better  to  use  small  space  rather  than  large  space  for  adver- 
tising a  fountain  pen,  or  whether  it  is  better  to  use  large 
space  rather  than  small  space  for  advertising  a  typewriter, 
are  questions  which  involve  many  other  elements  besides  the 
mere  attention-value  of  the  space.  These  factors  will  be  con- 
sidered a  little  later.  But  in  order  to  get  at  the  ultimate  facts 
of  the  problem  we  must  single  out  the  separate  elements  and 
deal  with  them  in  turn.  The  present  question  relates  to  the 
pure  attention-value  of  space. 

The  Pure  Attention- Value  of  Size.  The  evidence  of  ob- 
servation, experiment,  and  campaign  results  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  attention-value  increases  as  rapidly  as,  if  not  more 
rapidly  than,  the  size  of  the  space  increases.     But  we  must 

45 


46 


ADVERTISING 


not  prejudice  ourselves  in  the  matter.    Let  us  rather  examine 
the  evidence  at  hand. 

Increase  in  Size  of  Advertisements.  Whatever  the  true 
answer  to  the  (juestion  may  be,  the  first  significant  fact  is 
that,  since  the  beginning  of  advertising  in  America  until 
within  the  last  decade,  there  has  been  a  steady  and  continuous 
tendency  toward  the  use  of  larger  advertisements. 


,  1 

150 

- 

\J 

13C 

- 

110 

- 

80 

- 

/ 

70 

/^ 

A    r. 

.^ 

50 
40 
30 
80 

-      / 

V' 

/ 

.  V  / 

1 . 

1 

1 

1870 


1880 


1890 

Figure  17 


1900 


19101 


Curve  showing  the  increase  in  size  of  the  average  magazine 

advertisement  expressed  in  agate  lines.     The  average  magazine 

advertisement  today  is  approximately  four  times  as  large  as 

it  was  in  1870 

Professor  Scott  made  an  investigation  to  determine  the 
average  size  of  the  advertisements  for  each  year  appearing 
in  the  Century  Magazine  since  1870.  In  the  table  given  on 
page  36  he  gives  the  average  number  of  agate  lines  per  adver- 
tisement. In  1872  the  average  number  of  lines  per  advertise- 
ment was  38,  whereas  in  1913  the  average  number  of  lines 
was  169,  According  to  this  investigation,  therefore,  the  aver- 
age magazine  advertisement  today  is  four  times  as  large  as  it 
was  forty  years  ago. 


THE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENT8  47 

This  point  is  further  corroborated  by  the  appearance  of 
double-page  advertisements  during  the  last  decade  and  by  the 
tremendous  increase  in  the  use  of  full-page  advertisements. 
Up  to  1890  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  total  advertising  space 
in  magazines  consisted  of  full-page  advertisements.  Today 
the  ratio  is  nearly  one-half.  Conversely,  there  has  been  a 
decrease  in  the  frequency  of  using  small  space.  In  1880  half- 
page  spaces  were  used  about  two  and  a  half  times  as  often 
as  full-page  spaces,  in  1890  less  than  twice  as  often,  and  today 
about  one-half  as  often. 

"Mortality  Rate"  of  Advertisers.  Professor  Scott  has 
shown  that  the  "mortality  rate"  of •  advertisers  is  very  much 
greater  among  the  users  of  small  space  than  among  the  users 
of  large  space.  He  made  a  tabulation  of  all  the  firms  located 
west  of  Buffalo  which  advertised  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal 
during  eight  years. 

Number  of  Years  the  Firms  Average  Number  of  Lines  Used 

Continued  to  Aovertisb  Annually  by  Each  Firm 

1  year  56  lines 

2  years  116 

3  "  168 

4  "  194 

5  "  192 

6  '•  262 

7  "  218 

8  "  600 

"This  would  seem  to  indicate,"  says  Professor  Scott,^ 
"that  in  general,  if  a  firm  uses  56  lines  annually  in  the 
Ladies'  Home  Journal,  the  results  will  be  so  unsatisfactory 
that  it  will  not  try  it  again.  If  it  uses  116  lines  annually  it 
will  be  encouraged  to  attempt  it  the  second  year,  but  will  then 
drop  out.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  uses  600  lines  annually, 
the  results  will  be  so  satisfactory  that  it  will  continue  to  use 
the  same  magazine  indefinitely." 

Testing  the  Attention-Value  of  Space.  In  the  magazine 
test  described  on  page  30,  the  results  were  tabulated  to  show 
how  many  times  advertisements  of  different  sizes  were  noticed 
and  recalled.  These  tabulated  results  will  be  found  on 
page  48. 

1.  Scott,  Psychology  of  Advertising,  p.  163. 


48 


ADVERTISING 


From  this  table^  it  can  be  seen  that  the  double-page  adver- 
tisements were  recalled  more  than  twice  as  often  as  one-page 
advertisements,  the  one-page  were  recalled  more  than  twice 
as  often  as  half-page  advertisements,  and  the  half-page  were 
recalled  more  than  twice  as  often  as  quarter-page  advertise- 
ments. If  small  advertisements  had  as  much  attention-value 
as  large  advertisements  in  proportion  to  the  space  occupied, 
the  figures  in  the  last  column  should  all  be  alike,  but  instead 
there  is  a  rapid  decrease  from  the  larger  to  the  smaller  spaces. 
Considered  in  relation  to  size,  the  double-page  advertisements 
were  mentioned  about  four  and  one-half  times  as  often  as  the 
quarter-page  advertisements,  the  full  and  three-quarter  page 
were  mentioned  about  three  and  one-half,  and  the  half-page 
nearly  twice  as  often  as  the  quarter-page  advertisements. 


Mentions 

Number 

Mentions 

PER  Paob 

Size 

Number 

Mentions 

OF  Pages 

PER  Paqe 

Occupied 

OF  Ads 

OF  Ads 

PER  Ad 

Occupied 

Occupied 

Minus 
Familiaritt 

2  pp.... 

3 

13.4 

6 

67 

42.3 

Ip 

69 

48.4 

69 

48.4 

33.0 

VaV 

10 

36.1 

7.5 

48.1 

35.5 

^P 

58 

10.7 

29 

21.4 

17.0 

MP 

53 

2.4 

14 

9.6 

9.6 

An  earlier  test  conducted  in  the  same  manner  by  Professor 
Scott-  brought  similar  results.  The  number  of  mentions  in 
his  test  was  smaller,  but  his  results  show  a  similar  relative 
advantage  for  the  larger  spaces.  He  apparently  made  no  de- 
duction for  the  factors  of  position  and  familiarity.  His  fig- 
ures, corresponding  to  those  in  the  fifth  column  of  the  above 
table,  are  19.6  for  one-page  advertisements,  18.4  for  half-page, 
13  for  quarter-page,  and  10  for  small  advertisements.  The 
larger  advertisements  received  proportionally  more  frequent 
mentions. 

Creating  an  Ulusion  of  Large  Space.  Some  advertisers 
arrange  their  space  in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  an  illusion 

1.  The  seven  full-page  advertisements  in  preferred  positions  were  not 
Included  In  this  tabulation.  The  effect  of  familiarity  is  discounted  in  the 
figures  of  the  last  column  as  explained  on  page  34. 

2.  Scott,  Psychology  of  Advertising,  p.  163. 


TEE  SIZE  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS 


49 


of  larger  area  than  is  really  occupied.     Examples  are  sho^vn 
in  Figures  18  and  19. 


The  Mew  .25  Caliber 

Automatic  Pistol 


Figure  18 

A  three-quarter  page  advertisement  so  constructed  that  it 
dominates  the  page 

Results  of  Campaigns.  The  evidence  presented  thus  far 
has  all  been  derived  from  laboratory  investigations.  It  will 
be  of  value  now,  to  notice  the  available  evidence  derived  from 
actual  campaigns.  A.  II.  Kuhlmann^  made  a  study  of  the  I'e- 
lation  between  the  number  of  sales  of  pure  bred  cattle  and  the 
amount  of  space  used  in  the  agricultural  papers  to  effect  their 
sale.    This  study  is  particularly  important  because  it  was  pos- 


1.  From    an    unpublished    thesis    in    the    library    of    the    University    of 
Wisconsin. 


50 


ADVERTISING 


slble  to  tabulate  not  only  the  amount  of  advertising  space  used, 
but  also  the  exact  number  of  sales  made.  The  latter  was  deter- 
mined from  the  registers  and  transfers  of  pure  bred  stock. 


REMINGIOH 

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Figure  19 

A   different   method   of   using  a   three-quarter   page  space  so 
as  to  create  the  impression  of  a  full  page 

The  results  are  set  forth  in  a  table  which  shows  the  num- 
ber of  column  inches  of  advertising  used  and  the  number  of 
sales  made  during  each  six  months  from  1900  to  1907 : 


Yeak 

Jan. to . 

UNE 

July  to 

Dec. 

Totals 

Column 
Inches  fob 

Adver- 

Adver- 

Adver- 

TISINQ 

Sales 

tising 

Sales 

tising 

Sales 

One  Sale 

1900 

118.0 

63 

245.0 

30 

363.0 

93 

3.9 

1901 

246.0 

48 

262.2 

25 

508.2 

73 

6.9 

1902 

326.0 

97 

292.0 

105 

618.0 

202 

3.1 

1903 

326.0 

82 

327.0 

108 

653.0 

190 

3.4 

1904 

347.0 

107 

390.0 

90 

737.0 

197 

3.7 

1905 

599.5 

171 

397.5 

188 

997.0 

359 

2.8 

1906 

427.5 

161 

361.0 

137 

788.0 

298 

2.6 

1907 

537.0 

254 

492.0 

195 

1029.0 

449 

2.3 

TEE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS 


51 


The  interesting  facts  brought  out  by  a  study  of  this  table 
are  that  the  number  of  column  inches  per  sale  decreased  as 
the  advertising  space  increased,  and  that  the  sales  and  the  ad- 
vertising space  as  shown  in  the  curves  of  Figure  20  have  a 
close  parallel  fluctuation.  With  an  increase  of  space  there  is 
a  relatively  greater  increase  in  the  number  of  sales.  Or,  in 
other  words,  the  larger  amounts  of  space  were  slightly  more 
profitable.  These  facts  are  portrayed  graphically  in  the 
curves  of  Figure  20.    It  will  be  observed  that  these  curves  run 


/oco 


"7903        /9c* 

Figure  20 


79»7 


Curves  showing  increase  in  column  inches  of  space  for  adver- 
tising pure  bred  stock  and  the  parallel  increase  in  the  number 
of  sales  produced 

parallel  to  a  remarkable  extent.  When  the  advertising  space 
was  increased  the  sales  generally  increased,  and  when  the 
advertising  space  decreased  the  sales  decreased.  The  in- 
crease in  space  was  not  due  to  the  use  of  more  mediums,  but 
to  the  use  of  larger  space  in  the  same  mediums. 

The  returns  tabulated  from  the  advertising  of  the  Amer- 
ican Collection  Service  by  Mr.  W.  A,  Shryer^  point  in  the 

1.  Analytical  Mvertiaing,  p.  171. 


52 


ADVEBTISING 


same  direction.  The  figures  in  the  accompanying  table  indi- 
cate that  the  cash  return  per  dollar  of  advertising  cost  is 
greater  for  the  full-  and  half -page  spaces  than  for  the  smaller 
spaces. 

Relative  Values  of  Small  and  Large  Copy. 


NCMBEB 

NUMBEB 

Adver- 

.  Cost 

Returns 

Sub 

OF 

OF 

Inquiries 

TISINQ 

Cash 

PER 

PER  Dol- 

OF Ad 

Mediums 

Insertions 

Cost 

Returns 

Inquiry 

lar  Adv. 
Cost 

5  lines 

classified 

66 

721 

13374 

$4441 

$20222 

$0.30 

$4.50 

7  lines. . 

50 

84 

911 

484 

921 

.53 

1.90 

16  lines. . 

55 

126 

3643 

2549 

5476 

.70 

2.10 

20  lines.. 

12 

12 

127 

185 

114 

1.47 

.60 

36  lines.. 

15 

18 

1078 

476 

827 

.45 

1.70 

HP 

42 

99 

2766 

2109 

3730 

.76 

1.80 

Kp 

21 

60 

2458 

2246 

6095 

.92 

2.70 

IP 

18 

69 

4296 

4774 

10772 

1.11 

2.30 

Mr.  Shryer  presents  these  results  to  show  that  the  large 
spaces  were  less  profitable  than  the  small  spaces.  That  is 
true  if  the  cost  per  inquiry  alone  is  considered.  The  cheapest 
inquiries  were  brought  by  the  five-line  classified  advertise- 
ments, and  the  most  expensive  inquiries  were  brought  by  the 
larger  advertisements.  But  it  is  quite  obvious  that  not  all 
inquiries  are  of  equal  value.  The  author  has  therefore  com- 
puted the  number  of  dollars  of  business  brought  per  dollar 
invested  in  advertising,  as  shown  in  the  last  column  —  which 
is  the  ultimate  test  of  the  efiiciency  of  advertising.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  most  profitable  space  was  the  small  five-line  in- 
sertion. It  brought  $4.50  worth  of  business  for  every  dollar 
spent  for  advertising.  The  returns,  however,  for  this  classified 
advertisement  must  be  omitted  from  the  present  consideration 
because  the  problem  of  attracting  attention  by  classified  mat- 
ter is  very  different  from  the  problem  of  attracting  attention 
by  general  publicity  advertising.  Attention  in  the  former 
case  is  largely  of  the  voluntary  type,  whereas  in  the  latter  it 
is  largely  of  the  involuntary  type. 

The  large  space  would  probably  have  shown  even  greater 
relative  value  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  fact  that  much  of 


TEE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS  53 

the  larger  space  had  been  arranged  for  as  ' '  trade  deals ' '  with 
mediums  which  might  not  otherwise  have  been  selected.  The 
full-  and  half -page  spaces  brought  the  most  profitable  returns. 
The  twenty-line  space  proved  to  be  the  least  satisfactory  be- 
cause the  text  of  the  advertisement  was  very  poor.  It  had 
no  illustration  —  all  other  advertisements  had;  the  heading 
was  small,  and  the  body  type  was  small.  It  would  be  well  for 
the  development  of  a  science  of  advertising  if  other  firms 
followed  the  excellent  example  of  Mr.  Shryer  in  keeping 
accurate  returns,  where  that  is  possible,  and  in  making  these 
results  public. 

Experience  of  Large  Advertisers.  Recently  an  investi- 
gation was  made  by  Printer's  Ink^  of  the  question  whether 
''small  space  in  many  media  is  better  than  large  space  in  few 
media."  The  inquiry  was  addressed  to  large  advertisers  and 
attempted  to  ascertain  what  their  experiences  and  actual 
results  were.  Replies  from  the  twenty-six  advertisers  who 
responded  fell  into  the  following  groups :  Seven  were  in  doubt 
and  said  that  it  depended  on  the  particular  conditions  involved. 
Three  firms  favored  small  space  in  many  media.  These  were 
the  makers  of  the  Parker  Fountain  Pen,  Three-in-One  Oil,  and 
Onyx  Hosiery.  Sixteen  firms,  or  about  two-thirds  of  the  entire 
number,  favored  large  space  in  fewer  media.  Some  interesting 
and  significant  statements  may  be  quoted  from  this  group : 

E.  Mapes  (Cream  of  Wheat  Company)  :  Personally,  I  believe  in  the 
use  of  large  spaces  and  preferred  positions  for  a  product  like  ours. 

C.  W.  Mears  (Winton  Motor  Car  Company)  :  We  have  tried  the 
small-space-in-many-publications  idea,  and,  so  far  as  we  could  learn,  we 
created  practically  no  impression  whatever.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
have  abundant  evidence  of  having  created  an  impression  by  means  of 
large  space  in  few  publications. 

E.  St.  E.  Lewis  (Burroughs  Adding  Machine  Company)  :  Speaking 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Burroughs  Adding  Machine  Company,  we 
believe  that  a  big  space  in  a  few  media  is  better  than  a  little  space  in 
many  media  because  we  must  tell  a  story. 

T.  A.  De  Weese  (Shredded  Wheat  Company) :  In  the  last  three  years 
we  have  completely  changed  our  methods  of  newspaper  advertising,  going 
from  80-line  space  to  440-line  space.    In  that  time  the  sales  of  Shredded 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  October  5,  1911,  p.  3. 


54  ADVERTISING 

Wheat  Biscuit  have  more  than  doubled  and  we  have  not  added  a  dollar 
to  the  original  advertising  appropriation. 

B.  D'Emo  (William  Wrigley,  Jr.,  Company)  :  ...  spent  several 
thousand  dollars  in  small  space  without  creating  a  ripple  .  .  .  then 
shifted  to  space  twice  the  size  used  the  same  number  of  times,  creating 
thereby  a  large  and  profitable  business  within  slightly  over  a  year. 

W.  L.  Taylor  states  that  the  Wilbur  Stock  Food  Company,  in  keep- 
ing a  careful  record  of  the  cost  per  inquiry,  found  that  "a  full-page 
advertisement  once  a  month  in  a  weekly  publication  was  found  to  pro- 
duce larger  returns  at  lower  cost  per  inquiry  than  the  regular  insertion 
of  small  copy  in  each  issue.  To  be  definite,  a  full-page  once  a  month  in 
a  weekly  publication  produced  better  than  quarter-pages  in  each  of  four 
consecutive  issues." 

Numerous  examples  might  be  quoted  to  show  the  experi- 
ences and  policies  of  national  advertisers  regarding  the  use 
of  space.  The  recent  change  of  policy  of  Montgomery  Ward 
&  Co.  is  interesting  and  instructive.^ 

A  year  ago  Montgomery  Ward  &  Co.  made  a  radical  change  in  the 
advertising  policy,  which  in  the  opinion  of  the  house  is  thoroughly 
justifying  itself. 

The  old  type  of  advertising  was  of  a  piece  with  the  advertising  of 
all  other  mail  order  houses,  and  might  often  have  been  considered  a 
model  in  its  way;  but  it  was  growing  less  and  less  effective.  For  years 
the  cost  of  getting  inquiries  had  been  increasing  with  this  house,  as  it 
had  with  all  others.  The  day  of  the  ten-cent  inquiries  was  long  past. 
The  average  had  climbed,  first  up  to  15,  then  to  20,  25,  and  at  last  even 
to  30  cents. 

The  argument  for  economy  had  been  all  along  with  the  mail  order 
houses,  but  certain  practices  of  less  reputable  concerns  in  the  field  had 
been  having  a  deleterious  effect  on  public  confidence.  The  increase  of 
cost  in  getting  replies  was  the  measure  of  the  harm  done.  This  was 
the  reason  why  the  bargain  offer,  "This  chair  for  $7.98,"  or  "Send 
BOW  for  our  catalogue  and  save  money,"  lost  a  great  deal  of  its  original 
effectiveness. 

Montgomery  Ward  &  Co.  became  convinced  that  the  bargain  idea 
was  the  wrong  one  to  put  forward.  The  real  need  was  for  a  restoration 
of  confidence.  They  decided  to  attempt  this  on  their  own  part  by  giving 
the  public  a  new  conception  of  Montgomery  Ward  &  Co.,  one  that 
should  impress  it  with  a  sense  of  the  quality  of  its  merchandise  and 
service,  the  consistency  of  its  prices  and  the  integrity  and  generosity 
of  its  policy. 

1.  Printer'8  Ink,  January  4,  1912,  p.  81. 


TEE  SIZE  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  55 

And  they  have  carried  it  out,  or  sought  to  carry  it  out,  by  engaging 
fifteen  of  the  leading  American  artists  in  black-and-white  to  symbolize 
the  business  in  allegorical  and  other  designs,  and  then  presenting  their 
work  to  the  public  in  large  space  in  the  leading  mail  order  mediums. 

This  conception  and  the  method  of  its  execution  were,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  somewhat  revolutionary.  They  were  not  adopted  by 
the  directors  without  the  most  serious  consideration.  Up  to  this  time 
there  had  been  practically  only  one  kind  of  mail  order  copy  in  use.  Some 
few  copywriters  had  managed  to  break  away  from  the  standard  and 
achieved  excellent  results  for  a  while  with  large  space  and  reason-why 
copy,  but  always  at  last  they  had  been  driven  back  into  the  old  rut.  .  .  . 

The  first  copy  did  not  begin  to  run  until  September.  It  went  into  a 
list  of  papers  about  one-third  the  previous  list  and  ran  on  an  average 
of  672  lines  or  about  twelve  inches  across  four  columns,  occasionally 
deeper.  The  contracts  were  for  an  average  of  twenty-eight  insertions 
during  the  year.  The  old  copy  was  seldom  over  six  inches,  single  column, 
and  most  of  the  time  four  or  five  inches. 

When  the  copy  began  to  run  the  advertising  world  was  amazed. 

"Our  good  friends  came  in  to  tell  us  that  we  were  making  the 
biggest  mistake  of  all,  pleasing  ourselves  instead  of  the  public,  and 
'shooting  over  the  heads  of  our  customers,'  "  said  Mr.  Lynn. 

"In  other  quarters,  there  must  have  been  a  lot  of  quiet  chuckling. 
Our  worthy  competitors  did  not  pay  us  the  compliment  of  imitation  —  I 
do  not  suppose  they  are  waiting  for  results  before  experimenting  them- 
selves; they  have  simply  set  the  campaign  down  as  a  mistake." 

The  critics  were  only  less  mistaken  than  Montgomery  Ward  &  Co. 
were,  no  more  than  Ward  had  been  before.  Instead  of  going  far  over 
the  heads  of  the  farmers  and  small-town  dwellers  it  proved  the  very 
thing  they  had  been  waiting  for.  No  urban  population  could  have 
shown  more  appreciation  —  the  response  was  almost  instantaneous.  Not 
only  did  Ward  begin  to  hear  from  them,  but  many  of  them  took  the 
trouble  to  write  in  to  the  publishers  and  tell  them  that  they  had  never 
before  seen  such  fine  advertisements  in  their  papers,  that  they  were  a 
credit  to  the  latter,  and  that  they  hoped  they  were  going  to  see  more 
of  them,  a  wish  in  which  the  publishers  were  not  too  diffident  to  unite, 
because  some  of  them  forwarded  the  letters  to  Ward  &  Co. 

And  striking  results  were  shown  in  the  actual  dollars-and-cents 
returns.  The  campaign  started  in  September  and  there  was,  therefore, 
only  about  an  average  of  two  insertions  per  month,  in  the  list,  about  one- 
third  of  the  year.  But  traceable  returns  in  that  time  cost  only  25  cents 
per  inquiry.  As  traceable  returns  are  seldom  more  than  one-half  of  the 
total  number,  this  signified  a  real  cost  of  not  more  than  twelve  and 
one-half  cents  per  inquiry,  which  would  take  us  almost  to  the  palmiest 
days  of  mail  order ! 

It  was  too  much  to  expect  that  thig  would  Ijo  kept  up  after  the 


56  ADVEBTISING 

novelty  began  to  wear  off.  It  was  natural  for  the  feeling  to  dull 
after  the  first  impression.  But  it  showed  how  strong  that  first  impression 
was.  All  are  confident  now  that  they  have  touched  the  spring  of  the 
situation  and  that  slowly,  perhaps,  but  certainly,  the  business  will  expand 
until  the  full  cumulative  force  of  the  advertising  becomes  effective  and 
acts  with  a  mighty  urge.  Because  such  advertising  as  this  must  not  only 
stimulate  those  who  have  previously  done  business  with  them,  but  also 
those  who  from  prejudice  or  indifference  have  never  bought  goods  by 
mail;  it  is  dignifying  and  elevating  the  whole  mail  order  field. 

The  plans  and  results  of  several  other  firms,  as  recently 
described,  have  a  weighty  bearing  upon  the  problem  of  space.^ 

Tlie  Liquid  Carbonic  Company,  of  Chicago,  about  ten  or  twelve  years 
ago  began  the  manufacture  of  soda  fountains,  in  a  small  way.  The 
company  previous  to  that  time  had  been  a  maker  of  carbonic  acid  gas, 
and  machinery  for  carbonating  water.  The  company's  advent  into  the 
soda  fountain  field  was  at  a  time  when  a  company  commonly  known  as 
the  Soda  Fountain  Trust  was  supposed  to  have  everything  its  own  way. 
The  Liquid  Carbonic  Company  began  at  once  using  two  and  four-page 
inserts  of  extraordinary  beauty  in  all  the  leading  druggists'  and  con- 
fectioners' journals,  setting  a  pace  that  revolutionized  methods  of  adver- 
tising in  that  industry.  This  bold,  aggressive  manner  of  advertising  has 
been  carried  on  continuously  ever  since.  Today  the  Liquid  Carbonic 
Company  builds  and  sells  twice  as  many  fountains  as  any  other  firm  in 
the  business  and  has  just  completed  a  new  20  acre  plant  costing  over 
$1,000,000. 

Of  course,  advertising  did  not  do  it  all,  hj  any  means,  but  big 
space  and  good  copy  did  in  a  few  years  what  small  space  could  not  have 
done  in  centuries. 

The  Inland  Steel  Company,  of  Chicago,  had  been  attempting  for 
some  years  to  build  up  a  trade  on  galvanized  sheet  steel,  and  though 
that  company  made  an  excellent  grade  of  steel  it  found  difliculty  in  get- 
ting as  high  a  price  for  it  as  a  well  advertised  brand  made  in  the  Pitts- 
burgh district.  The  company  had  been  using  standing  cards  in  many 
trade  papers  for  a  long  time. 

I  went  to  them  and  told  them  that  I  believed  they  could  make  a 
name  for  themselves  and  convince  the  buying  public  of  the  high  standard 
of  their  product  by  a  full-page  quality  campaign  in  all  the  leading 
papers  that  reached  their  trade. 

A  campaign  was  begun  a  year  ago,  and  though  the  past  year  has 
been  an  extremely  dull  one  for  the  sheet  steel  world,  with  most  mills  run- 
ning half  time,  the  Inland  Company  not  only  sold  its  full  output,  but 

1.  R.  R.  Shuman,  "How  and  Why  Big  Space  Pays,"  Advertising  and 
Selling,  January,  1911,  p.  51. 


THE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS  57 

more  than  doubled  its  output,  and,  on  top  of  it  all,  is  getting  a  higher 
price  compared  with  other  brands  than  it  ever  got  before. 

Dealers,  jobbers,  and  wholesale  consumers  all  responded  to  this 
advertising,  and  many  manufacturers  of  galvanized  steel  products  now 
make  a  special  point  in  their  own  advertising  matter  of  the  fact  that 
their  products  are  made  from  Inland  Open  Hearth  Sheets. 

In  one  year 's  time  this  comparative  newcomer  in  the  galvanized  sheet 
steel  field  has  made  an  impression  equaled  by  few  firms  that  have  been 
in  the  business  for  a  generation. 

The  management  of  the  Hawley  Down-Draft  Furnace  Company,  an 
old  established  Chicago  concern,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  young  son  of 
a  man  who  had  been  proprietor  of  the  business  for  a  number  of  years. 
The  young  man  had  courage  and  believed  in  advertising.  The  old  stand- 
ing cards  that  the  company  had  used  were  therefore  abandoned  and  in 
their  place  full-page  copy  of  the  most  unique  and  catchy  kind  was  used 
in  the  leading  mediums  to  reach  the  three  classes  of  purchasers  of  their 
product  —  steam  engineers,  iron  and  steel  manufacturers,  and  brass  and 
metal  workers.  The  expenditure  would  have  made  some  of  the  older  men 
turn  in  their  graves,  but  at  that  the  cost  of  this  advertising  campaign 
is  not  over  one-tenth  as  large  as  the  public  commonly  believes. 

The  result  of  this  campaign  has  beer  such  a  flood  of  inquiries  and 
such  an  increase  in  business  that  the  company  has  been  forced  to  abandon 
its  present  quarters,  and  erect  a  large  plant  in  Chicago. 

The  Cleveland  Crane  &  Engineering  Co.,  of  Euclid,  Ohio,  had  been 
using  one-eighth  pages  in  twenty-one  magazines,  with  little,  if  any, 
results.  A  new  policy  changed  this  to  six  or  seven  magazines,  with  full- 
page  copy.  In  three  months  this  advertising  brought  more  returns  than 
all  the  advertising  in  twenty -one  papers  in  eight  years. 

Burton  W.  Mudge  &  Co.,  of  Chicago,  makers  of  railway  specialties, 
had  been  using  very  small  spaces  —  one-sixteenth  and  one-eighth  pages 
—  in  railway  papers,  without  results.  They  finally  took  out  a  contract 
for  a  full-page  run  in  the  Bailway  Age  Gazette,  and  it  was  only  very 
shortly  after  this  campaign  began  that  a  railroad  official  tore  out  one 
of  these  page  ads  and  attached  it  to  an  order  for  ventilator  equipment 
for  100  passenger  coaches,  the  profit  on  which  would  probably  pay  for  a 
full-page  campaign  for  several  years,  and  this  was  only  the  beginning 
of  a  marked  increase  in  business  due  directly  to  advertising. 

The  Marion  Steam  Shovel  Company  had  been  using  two-inch  spaces 
in  the  trade  papers  for  nine  years.  It  was  induced  to  increase  its  space 
to  one-quarter  pages  and  after  four  months  the  representative  of  the 
Mining  and  Scientific  Press  was  asked  to  call.  He  went,  fearful  that 
these  people  intended  to  cancel  the  advertisement.  Instead  of  that, 
they  voluntarily  increased  to  one-half  page,  stating  that  they  never 
knew  what  advertising  results  were  until  they  increased  to  the  one- 
quarter  page,  and  now  they  were  going  to  try  one-half  pages  or  larger. 


58  ADVEBTISING 

The  Janesville  Pump  Company,  of  Hazelton,  Pa.,  accomplished  a 
phenomenal  increase  in  their  business  by  using  four-page  colored  inserts 
in  one  paper  called  Mines  and  Minerals  for  one  year.  Their  advertising 
before  this  had  been  perfunctory  and  unproductive,  but  this  four-page 
insert  got  the  business. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year's  campaign  the  Janesville  Pump  Com- 
pany mentioned  in  their  advertisement  that  they  had  prepared  a  conve- 
nient binder  for  binding  up  the  twelve  inserts  just  printed  and  would  be 
glad  to  send  one  upon  request.  They  received  1400  requests  for  this 
binder!  which  was  something  like  15  percent  of  the  whole  circulation  of 
the  paper. 

The  Imperial  Brass  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Chicago,  started 
advertising  in  the  American  Architect  by  using  one-quarter  pages,  alter- 
nating with  one-sixteenth  pages.  About  a  year  ago  they  increased  their 
quarter-pages  to  full  pages,  frequently  using  coupons  on  the  full  pages. 
While  the  smaller  spaces  had  brought  but  indifferent  returns,  J.  J.  Rock- 
well, who  handles  their  copy  so  ably,  testifies  that  the  returns  from  the 
full-page  ads  were  so  spontaneous  and  so  prolific  in  direct  orders  that  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  a  stronger  proof  of  the  superior  eflBciency  of  the 
large  space. 

Chauncey  B.  Williams,  the  western  manager  of  the  Architectural 
Becord,  some  time  ago  made  a  study  of  the  files  of  his  magazine  for  the 
last  twenty  years  and  he  discovered  that,  without  exception,  all  firms 
who  persisted  in  their  advertising  campaigns  from  the  first  to  the  last 
issue  of  his  paper  were  those  who  used  big  spaces.  ... 

Mr.  Lampman,  of  the  American  Exporter,  tells  of  an  experience  of  a 
Buffalo  firm  who  had  been  using  one-eighth  page  space  in  his  paper  for 
six  years,  without  results.  The  firm  increased  its  space  to  one  page  and 
only  a  week  or  two  after  the  first  issue  was  out  received  a  cablegram 
costing  $15.00  for  a  bill  of  goods  the  profits  on  which  would  pay  for  a 
year's  full-page  campaign. 

Instances  of  this  kind  might  be  cited  till  night,  and  then  again 
tomorrow,  and  then  the  recital  would  only  be  begun.  My  references 
have  been  wholly  to  technical  and  trade  journals,  but  the  same  thing 
applies  to  the  popular  magazines  like  the  Saturday  Evening  Post  —  hence 
the  popularity  of  the  double  spread.  I  honestly  believe  that  the  first 
man  who  bought  a  double  spread  in  the  Saturday  Evening  Post  got  ten 
times  the  value  that  he  would  have  gotten  out  of  a  single  page,  and  a 
thousand  times  the  value  that  he  would  have  gotten  out  of  a  100  line 
single  column  ad. 

The  same  tendency  is  true  in  bill  posting.  A  man  was  telling  me 
the  other  day  about  a  friend  of  his  who  was  using  a  24-8heet  poster 
in  Chicago.  A  24-sheet  poster  is  a  pretty  big  affair,  as  you  know,  and 
people  would  come  to  him  and  say,  "Mercy,  man,  you  must  be  using 
thousands  of  these  posters.    I  see  them  wherever  I  go. " 


THE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS  69 

• 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  advertiser  was  using  only  112  stands. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  window  dressing. 

Mr.  Clough,  of  the  Abbot  Alkaloidal  Company,  of  Chicago,  told 
of  a  little  instance  that  came  to  his  own  attention. 

It  was  one  of  those  little  corner  stores  opposite  the  schoolhouse  where 
the  children  go  to  buy  pens,  pencils,  writing-pads,  marbles,  toys,  and 
knick-knacks  of  every  kind, — the  things  that  children  love,  including 
school  necessities.  But  in  the  center  of  the  window  was  a  pail  of  choco- 
late creams,  tilted  downward  so  that  the  candies  were  spread  out  in 
heaping  measure  before  the  youthful  gaze.  The  woman  in  the  store  told 
Mr.  Clough  that  she  sold  more  chocolate  creams  than  all  the  other  things 
in  the  window. 

That  was  an  instance  of  a  big  ad  surrounded  by  a  lot  of  little  ones. 

This  homely  illustration  brings  up  another  fact,  and  that  is  that 
concentration  of  attention  is  vital  in  order  to  make  an  advertisement 
effective.  The  pail  of  chocolate  creams  was  so  overpoweringly  attractive 
that  the  children  concentrated  their  attention  on  them  instead  of  allowing 
their  gaze  to  wander  over  the  balance  of  the  window  display. 

The  man  who  has  a  one-eighth  page  ad  alongside  of  seven  others 
of  the  same  size  gets  only  one-eighth  of  the  attention,  and  that  confused, 
and  if  the  one-eighth  be  on  the  same  page  with  a  one-half  and  three 
other  eighths  he  can  be  sure  that  the  one-half  page  gets  at  least  three 
times  the  attention  of  all  the  small  spaces  combined. 

The  man  who  will  use  large  spaces  and  put  the  right  kind  of  copy 
into  those  spaces  not  only  gets  larger  actual  returns  far  out  of  proportion 
to  the  actual  expenditure,  but  he  gets  the  reputation  of  being  a  whole- 
sale advertiser;  if  he  uses  five  papers,  people  think  he  uses  25,  and  if 
he  uses  10  they  think  he  uses  100,  while  he  might  use  little  card  spaces 
in  a  hundred  papers  and  never  be  known  as  an  advertiser  at  all. 

Eight  or  wrong,  just  or  unjust,  this  is  the  day  of  the  big  space 
and  the  striking  copy.  If  I  were  to  solicit  for  a  trade  and  technical 
journal  and  ran  across  a  man  who  had  a  good  proposition,  but  not 
enough  money  to  advertise  it  properly,  I  would  advise  him  to  do  one 
of  two  things;  either  to  borrow  the  money  to  do  the  advertising  right, 
or  spend  as  large  a  sum  as  he  could  afford  on  classified  advertising. 

Classified  advertising  is  the  only  small-space  advertising  that  is 
worth  what  it  costs,  and  it  is  worth  what  it  costs  because  it  gets  the  full 
value  of  what  is  called  voluntary  attention.  In  other  words,  because  of 
the  fact  that  it  is  classified  under  its  heading  it  is  sought  out  by  people 
who  are  interested  in  exactly  the  kind  of  proposition  named  under  the 
heading. 

The  ad  that  receives  the  voluntary  attention  of  the  reader  is  like  the 
store  sign.  It  simply  tells  the  prospective  buyer  the  place  and  number, 
the  line  of  goods  carried,  and  if  he  is  looking  for  that  line  of  goods  he 
may  or  may  not  enter  the  store  according  to  the  way  he  is  impressed  by 


60  ADVERTISING 

the  make-up  and  surroundings  of  it,  the  latter  being,  of  course,  an 
appeal  to  the  involuntary  as  well  as  the  voluntary  attention.  People 
are  either  interested,  indifferent,  or  uninterested  in  your  product.  If 
they  are  interested  they  may  go  to  the  trouble  of  hunting  out  a  small 
ad;  if  they  are  indifferent  they  may  be  caught  involuntarily,  and  held 
for  a  time  by  a  big,  powerful  ad.  And  this  is  the  function  of  the 
big  ad — changing  indifference  to  interest.  The  big  ad  also  has  an 
educational  function  in  seizing  hold  of  the  uninterested,  because  in 
these  changing  conditions  of  business  eflforts  a  man  who  is  uninterested 
in  your  proposition  today  maybe  interested  tomorrow ;  and  when  the  occa- 
sion arises  that  does  awaken  his  interest,  the  ad  that  has  most  forcibly 
struck  him  in  the  past  is  the  one  that  he  will  search  out  and  answer. 

There  is  just  one  more  feature  about  the  big  ad,  and  that  is  its 
effect  on,  and  helpfulness  to,  the  traveling  salesman.  Nearly  all  adver- 
tising in  trade  and  technical  journals  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  elicit- 
ing inquiries,  or  in  other  words,  making  it  easier  for  the  salesman  to  close 
the  deal.  You  may  run  one-eighth  pages  and  quarter  pages  in  40 
journals,  and  there  is  not  a  salesman  on  your  force  who  will  take 
the  trouble  to  look  for  the  ads  or  refer  to  them  in  his  conference  with 
a  merchant  or  manufacturer.  But  begin  a  full-page  campaign  and  you 
not  only  stiffen  the  spine  of  your  salesmen,  but  you  make  them  so  proud 
of  your  eflforts  that  they  make  it  a  point  to  show  the  ads  to  their  pros- 
pective customers.  And  this  is  true  not  only  of  the  salesmen  on  the 
road,  but  of  every  one  in  your  whole  business  organization.  A  high- 
class,  full-page  campaign,  run  in  the  right  kind  of  media,  if  it  is  a 
quality  campaign,  appeals  to  the  pride  and  loyalty  of  every  employee, 
and  makes  him  feel  like  doing  everything  in  his  own  individual  power 
to  measure  up  to  the  standard  described  in  the  advertising. 

This  fact  I  demonstrated  strikingly  in  the  case  of  the  Inland  Steel 
Company,  whose  product,  through  pure  force  of  interest  of  every  man 
in  the  company,  has  become  better  and  better  as  the  "quality"  adver- 
tising campaign  progressed.  It  was  good  at  the  start,  but  every  little 
means  for  improvement  that  was  discoverable  was  discovered. 

In  its  last  analysis,  the  big  space  and  the  good  copy  is  advertising, 
and  the  small  space  and  the  standing  card  is  not  advertising. 

Advertising  pays. 

The  other  thing  does  not  pay. 

A  few  good  ads  pay  in  proportion  to  their  cost.  Hundreds  of  little 
ads  do  not  pay  in  proportion  to  their  cost,  because  they  are  not 
advertising. 

I  am  speaking  particularly  of  the  trade  and  technical  press.  The 
same  principle  applies  to  all  other  media  in  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

Conclusion.  It  is  diflficult  to  formulate  any  generalization 
because  of  the  numerous  factors  and  conditions  involved  in 


TEE  SIZE  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS  61 

various  industries  and  sales  plans.  Yet  the  available  facts, 
both  experimental  and  practical,  indicate  pretty  definitely 
that,  other  conditions  being  equal,  large  space  in  few  media 
brings  greater  returns  than  small  space  in  many  media.  In 
making  this  general  statement  we  must  place  due  emphasis 
upon  the  modifying  phrase,  "other  conditions  being  equal." 
By  this  we  mean  that  where  other  conditions  would  permit 
just  as  well  the  use  of  either  large  or  small  space,  the  large 
space  would  be  more  effective. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  immediate  returns  are  sought, 
and  when  no  cumulative  impressions  are  necessary,  small 
space  is  apparently  just  as  profitable  as,  if  not  more  econom- 
ical than,  large  space.  But  when  a  deep  impression  must  be 
made  and  when  an  accumulating  momentum  is  sought,  as  in 
the  advertising  of  automobiles  or  pianos,  or  household  articles 
which  are  in  continuous  use,  the  larger  display  space  is  appar- 
ently the  most  effective  and  the  most  economic.  Concretely, 
we  may  conjecture  that  a  quarter  page  once  a  month  would 
probably  not  be  as  effective  as  a  half  page  every  other  month, 
and  the  latter  would  probably  not  be  as  effective  as  a  full  page 
every  fourth  month.  Or,  again,  one  page  in  four  months 
would  probably  not  be  as  effective  as  one  page  in  two  months, 
and  the  latter  would  probably  not  be  as  effective  as  one  page 
every  month. 

What  are  the  reasons  for  this?  In  the  first  place,  large 
space  makes  a  more  intense  impression  by  its  sheer  magnitude. 
Second,  it  has  less  competition  with  other  advertisements  for 
the  reader's  attention.  A  full  page  has  no  counter-attracting 
features  on  the  same  page,  and  so  is  able  to  secure  the  reader's 
attention  more  exclusively.  A  one-eighth  page  advertisement 
must  compete  with  the  other  seven  on  the  same  page.  Third, 
large  space  permits  of  more  adequate  presentation  of  the 
proposition,  such  as  larger  and  better  illustrations,  more  com- 
plete text,  better  and  more  readable  type.  Fourth,  it  tends  to 
create  an  impression  of  the  great  importance  and  reliability 
of  the  firm  which  is  advertised. 

The  recent  movement  unquestionably  has  been  in  the  di- 


62  ADVERTISING 

rection  of  intensive,  concentrated  advertising  and  away  from 
extensive,  diffused  advertising.  Nevertheless,  our  conclusion 
must  stand  as  a  more  or  less  tentative  conjecture  which  must 
remain  open  to  revision  in  accord  with  reliable  experimental 
and  campaign  results  that  may  be  available  in  the  future. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  the  chief  factors  to  be  considered  in  determining 
the  amount  of  space  to  be  used  for  an  advertisement  or  for  a  series 
of  advertisements?     Make  as  complete  an  analysis  as  you  can. 

2.  What  explanation  can  you  offer  of  the  fact  that  the  average 
amount  of  space  used  per  advertisement  has  gradually  increased? 

3.  What  criticism  can  you  suggest  concerning  the  "mortality  rate 
of  advertisers"  as  evidence  of  the  greater  effectiveness  of  large  space? 

4.  Given  an  appropriation  of  $5000  for  one  year,  for  advertising 
a  new  commodity,  for  example  a  toilet  soap,  what  plan  would  you  out- 
line with  reference  to  the  use  of  space  and  territory  to  be  covered? 
State  how  large  space  you  would  use  for  the  advertisements,  how  fre- 
quently you  would  insert  them,  and  in  what  medium  or  mediums.i 

5.  What  reasons  can  you  suggest  for  the  fact  that  as  a  rule  large 
space  is  more  profitable? 

6.  What  are  the  chief  differences  between  classified  and  display 
advertising  with  regard  to  the  problem  of  the  attentiou-value  of  space? 

7.  How  would  the  problem  of  space  be  affected  if  no  advertiser  were 
permitted  to  use  larger  than,  let  us  say,  half -page  space  of  standard 
magazine  size? 

8.  Make  a  study  of  current  advertising  with  regard  to  the  size  of 
advertisements  used  for  the  following  lines  of  commodities:  Wearing 
apparel,  toilet  articles,  jewelry  and  silverware,  furniture,  food  products, 
automobiles,  and  home,  office,  school,  and  building  and  construction 
supplies.  What  are  the  prevailing  practices  concerning  the  sizes  of  space 
used?  Are  there  any  definite  tendencies  to  use  large  or  small  space 
for  certain  classes  of  commodities?  Are  there  classes  for  which  there 
is  apparently  no  uniformity  of  practice? 

1.  To  answer  these  questions  definitely  a  directory  of  rates  and  circula- 
tions of  mediums  should  be  accessible.  Such  a  directory  can  be  obtained 
from  almost  any  large  advertising  agency,  such  as  Lord  &  Thomas,  Chicago; 
Mabin  Advertising  Co.,  Chicago :  N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son,  Philadelphia,  and  others. 
A  limited  list  of  rates  and  circulations  may  be  found  in  Chapters  10  and  11. 


CHAPTER   VI 

EMPHASIS  AND  UNITY  IN  ADVERTISEMENTS:    AVOIDANCE 
OF  COUNTER-ATTRACTIONS 

Emphasis  versus  Counter-Attraction.  The  next  principle 
of  arresting  attention  is  partly  of  a  positive  character  in 
making  a  certain  feature  or  set  of  features  of  an  advertise- 
ment prominent,  and  partly  of  a  negative  character  in  the 
avoidance  of  competition  among  the  devices  designed  to  at- 
tract attention.  It  is  known  as  the  principle  of  emphasis  or 
isolation,  or  the  principle  of  counter-attraction,  and  may  be 
stated  in  the  following  general  terms:  Other  things  being 
equal,  the  amount  and  duration  of  attention  depend  upon  the 
absence  of  counter-attractions.  That  is,  the  smaller  the  num- 
ber of  objects  is,  the  greater  are  the  chances  that  any  given 
object  will  attract  attention.  A  single  person  going  by  your 
window  is  more  certain  of  being  noticed  than  the  same  person 
in  a  crowd.  One  conspicuous  feature  on  a  printed  page  or 
on  a  billboard  is  more  certain  of  being  noticed  than  a  dozen. 

Experimental  Demonstration  of  the  Law.  The  law  of 
counter-attraction  was  demonstrated  experimentally  as  fol- 
lows :  To  each  of  ten  persons  a  set  of  cards  was  exposed  for 
a  brief  interval  of  time.  The  first  card  contained  five  words, 
the  second  ten,  and  the  third  twenty-five.  Immediately  after 
the  exposure  of  a  card  each  person  wrote  down  the  words  he 
had  noticed. 

Number  of  words  exposed 5  10  25 

Average  number  of  words  noticed  by  each  person  5  4.9  4.8 

In  this  test  the  average  number  of  words  noticed  was  five 
and  this  number  was  practically  constant,  no  matter  how 
many  words  were  exposed.  The  test  would  seem  to  show  that 
the  greater  the  number  of  words,  the  smaller  the  chances  that 
any  particular  word  will  be  noticed.  Thus,  when  only  five 
words  were  shown,  each  word  was  certain  of  being  noticed; 

63 


64  ADVERTISING 

when  ten  words  were  shown,  the  chances  were  one  in  two 
that  a  given  word  would  be  seen ;  and  when  twenty-five  words 
were  exposed,  the  chances  were  one  in  five  that  any  particular 
word  would  be  noticed. 

The  basis  of  this  law  is  the  fact  that  the  grasp  of  the  atten- 
tion is  limited,  a  fact  which  holds  not  only  for  visual  impres- 
sions, but  also  for  auditory  and  tactual  impressions.  Thus,  in 
a  rapid  succession  of  sounds  no  more  than  five  or  six  can  be 
recognized  at  a  single  impression.  The  same  is  true  of  touch. 
If  you  place  your  finger  upon  a  group  of  raised  points  you 
can  recognize  at  a  single  impression  not  more  than  five  or  six. 
This  fact  is  observed  in  the  construction  of  the  alphabet  for 
the  blind,  in  which  the  maximum  number  of  raised  points  for 
a  letter  is  six. 

Applications  to  the  Constmction  of  Advertisements.  The 
applicatioDs  of  the  principle  of  counter-attraction  to  the 
structure  of  advertisements  are  interesting  and  of  practical 
importance.  First,  this  principle  has  a  significant  bearing 
upon  the  structure  of  the  display  line.  In  the  usual  habit 
of  glancing  over  advertisements  the  time  given  to  any  one 
feature  is  almost  momentary.  Now,  it  is  obvious  that  if  the 
reader  is  to  derive  anything  from  this  snapshot  impression 
which  may  further  interest  him  in  the  advertisement,  the 
headline  must  contain  no  more  than  the  mind  can  grasp 
instantaneously.  We  have  demonstrated  that  this  limit  is 
approximately  five  words.  It  would  follow  that  unless  there 
are  definite  reasons  to  the  contrary  (and  this  is  rarely  the 
case),  a  good  headline  ought  to  be  limited  to  the  smallest  num- 
ber of  words  possible,  not  more  than  four  or  five,  and  prefer- 
ably less.  Note  the  difference  in  quickness  and  ease  with 
which  the  two  headings  in  Figure  21  can  be  grasped.  If  a 
prominent  illustration  is  used,  the  structure  of  the  headline 
is  not  quite  so  important  a  matter.  In  such  cases,  however, 
the  illustrations  ought  to  be  relatively  simple  and  compre- 
hensible. 

Increase  in  Short  Headlines.  It  is  significant  to  notice 
here  that  the  number  of  headlines  containing  five  words  or 


EMPHASIS  AND  UNITY  65 

less  has  gradually  increased  as  advertising  has  improved,  so 
that  today  the  large  majority  of  high  grade  advertisements 
have  short  headings.  The  long,  wordy  heading  has  gradually 
tended  to  disappear.  Observation  and  experience  have  proved 
the  short,  terse  headline  to  be  the  best,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  it  can  be  grasped  more  quickly,  and  that  therefore  it  has 
greater  attention- value. 


PREMIER 


Only  $1500 
Yet  See  What  This  Car  Has  Done 

Figure  21 

The  accompanying  table,  compiled  from  the  advertising 
sections  of  standard  magazines,  shows  for  several  intervals 
of  years  the  percentage  of  full-page  advertisements  contain- 
ing short  headlines,  that  is,  headlines  of  five  words  or  less. 

1881 37%     1890 59% 

1885 57%     1909 87% 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  the  standard  mediums  all  but  a 
small  percentage  of  the  full-page  advertisements  have  short 
headings.  The  proportion  has  grown  in  the  last  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  from  37  to  87  percent.  Good  judgment  and 
wide  experience  have  proved  the  short  heading  to  be  the  most 
effective. 

The  Magazine  Test.  This  fact  is  further  borne  out  by 
the  results  of  our  magazine  test.  If  we  take  the  advertise- 
ments in  which  the  headline  is  the  chief  means  of  arresting 
attention,  we  find  that  the  advertisements  with  the  short  dis- 
play lines  were  noticed  and  remembered  much  oftener  than 
the  advertisements  with  the  long  display  lines,  as  the  follow- 


66  ADVERTISING 

ing  table  indicates.  There  were  ten  full-page  advertisements 
and  seven  half-page  advertisements  which  had  either  no  cut 
at  all  or  else  an  entirely  insignificant  one.  In  both  cases  the 
advertisements  whose  display  line  contained  five  words  or  less 
were  mentioned  between  two  and  three  times  as  frequently  as 
the  ones  whose  display  line  contained  six  words  or  more.  It 
is  self-evident  that  for  this  comparison  advertisements  with- 
out illustrations  only  could  be  used,  because  in  advertisements 
which  have  a  prominent  illustration  the  display  line  is  of  less 
importance  as  an  attention  feature,  and  in  fact  should  be  less 
conspicuous. 

Full-page  Advertisements 

FiTB  Words     Six  Woi;d.: 
OB  Less  or  Muui: 

Number  of  advertisements    5  5 

Number  of  mentions    33.6  13 

Half-page  Advertisements 

Number  of  advertisements    3  4 

Number  of  mentions    5.3  2.2 

The  Principle  of  Emphasis  or  Isolation.  The  second  ap- 
plication of  the  law  of  counter-attraction  may  be  stated 
somewhat  dogmatically  as  follows:  An  advertisement  should 
contain  one,  and  preferably  only  one,  conspicuous  feature, 
which  should  stand  out  prominently  above  the  other  features 
as  an  agency  for  catching  the  attention.  If  there  are  several 
prominent  features  they  compete  with  one  another  and  tend 
to  lessen  the  value  of  the  advertisement  as  a  whole.  Elemen- 
tary as  this  principle  seems,  there  are,  nevertheless,  many 
violations  of  it,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  illustration  in  Figure 
22.  This  Underfeed  advertisement  is  weakened  by  hav- 
ing four  almost  equally  emphatic  features,  namely,  two  dis- 
play lines,  an  illustration  on  the  upper  left-hand  side,  and  a 
pair  of  illustrations  at  the  bottom.  The  advertisement  would 
be  much  improved  if  one  of  the  display  lines,  perhaps  the 
upper  one,  were  made  less  conspicuous  and  if  the  illustrations 
were  simplified.     Compare  it  with  Figures  23  and  24  and 


EMPHASIS  AND  UNITY 


67 


notice  the  excellent  emphasis  secured  in  each  of  these  by 
making  only  one  feature  prominent. 

This  principle  of  emphasis  is  more  frequently  violated  in 
small  advertisements  than  in  large  ones.  The  user  of  small 
space  feels  that  he  ought  to  say  as  much  as  possible  in  the 


How  to  Make 

BIG  MONEY; 

Out    of    Your    Heating    System  \ 

IT  may  secra  odd  to  compare  the  UNDER-  ; 
FEED  Heating  System  with  Savings  Banks  J 
or  Investment  Bonds.     Neither  banks  nor  ! 
bonds   yickl   anything   like   the    profit    that   is  \ 
ennu.alf:^  represented  by  the  redttced  cost  of 
UNDERFEED  heating. 

The  number  of  other  heating  plants  that 
DEALERS    have    torn    out    of    their    homes  - 
and  stores  and  replaced   v«th    UNDERFEED  ] 
plants  during  the  past  seasoo.  is  ejcpcrt  proof  ! 
that  they  KNOW  \ 

P^^k-Williamson  Underfeed 

HEATING     F,,^«'i  A?£  <j  _  R'AW1mo'4 

SYSTEMS    rURNACES  -  lJOlL£Kc» 

Save  yz  to  ^/3   of  Coal  Bills 


810  Wert  Fifth  Str«et.  CuwiAOMti,  O.  dn  fwr  *t  1 

Figure  22 
Too  many  conspicuous  features 


available  space  and  consequently  he  leaves  little  room  for  a 
conspicuous  heading.  In  most  instances  of  this  kind  the 
advertisement  would  be  more  effective  if  some  of  the  text 
were  sacrificed  to  the  securing  of  better  display.  Notice  the 
instances  of  this  tendency,  shown  in  Figure  25. 


68 


ADVEBTISING 


Furthermore,  it  is  often  profitable  to  leave  vacant  white 
space,  especially  if  the  advertisement  is  one  among  many  on  a 
page.  Its  display  type  will  thereby  stand  out  more  con- 
spicuously. A  striking  example  of  this  method  will  be  found 
in  Figure  25,  on  page  69. 


Kodak  Film 


The  Iflm   ^»h  35  yemt*  of  mttnulartutlnd    ''Xp^'itwe 
itack  c4ft--ih«  Win  ihnt  t»  InvartAbly  m>Im'1i-(1  for   imottrxtrn 


Figure  23 
Excellent   display.     No    compe- 
tition among  the  parts  of  the 
advertisement 


Figure  24 

An  example  of  isolating  the  one 

prominent  feature 


Still  another  violation  of  the  principle  of  counter- 
attraction  consists  in  making  the  subheadings  relatively  too 
prominent.  Unimportant  points  are  often  over-emphasized 
by  larger  type  than  the  subject-matter  demands,  and  conse- 
quently they  compete  unduly  with  the  main  headline.  (Illus- 
trations under  Problem  4  at  end  of  chapter.)  As  a  general 
rule,  subheadings  should  not  exceed  one-third  the  size  of  the 
main  display  line. 

The  underlying  psychological  reason  for  the  avoidance  of 
counter-attractions  in  an  advertisement  is  the  limitation  of 
the  field  of  attention.  Strictly  speaking,  only  one  thing 
can  be  attended  to  at  one  time,  but  four  or  five  separate 


EMPHASIS  AND  UNITY 


69 


parts  within  this  field  can  be  apprehended  simultaneously 
by  the  reader.  These  principles  of  attention  must  be 
kept  in  mind  in  the  preparation  of  copy  for  advertise- 
ments, if  the  greatest  degree  of  efficiency  is  to  be  secured. 


P-»r4r^STERLING^.rTMATTRESSi:nt 

CLEAN,    ODOMLE5S.    SANITAKY.  VEKMIN    PMOOF.    BUILT    TO    LAST    A    LIFETIME       *    llfMfl 


Ps«l|lii»jes 


BySw  FWi  Cwt  T^Mlrat  j«2 


$650  A.  a  C  AulomobUe  $650 


A.  B.  C.  Motor  VcUcIc  Mf|.  Co,  3919  Morttn,  St.  Lo^b 


Bonnie  Boy"  &nd  a 

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York  City  Sued  Car« 
«.hich  anounu  to  |]600-co>- 
crine  a  period  of  one  year.     It 


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itmjti 


of  something  to 
eat  or  something  to  wear. 
Who  ii  the  mantifacturer  I 
No   obligation. 

New  York  City 

Car  Advertisiag 

Company 

2M  Fifth  Ave..  N.Y. 


SAFETY  HAZOR  BLADES  }^c.  Eact  f. 


PUNCTURE  PROOF  FOLDING  BOATS 


2IJ       n     DETROIT 
n.    r,    ENGINE 


Dmuallr.    epvctkl  *bolaM&  s 


Figure  25 

An  example  of  the  advantageous  use  of  vacant  white  space  which 

makes  the  advertisement  of  the  New  York  City  Car  Advertising 

Co.  stand  out  on  the  page 


70 


ADVERTISING 


Get  this  Booll  from  the 
.At  LA  S  LIBRARY 


PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  application  has  the  principle  of  counter-attraction  to  the 
construction  of  headlines?  Obtain  an  advertisement  which  complies 
with  and  one  which  violates  this  principle. 

2.  Under  what  circumstances  would  you  use  a  long  headline? 

3.  Rewrite  and  improve  the  fol- 
lowing headings,  taken  from  current 
advertisements,  so  as  to  express  in 
five  words,  or  preferably  less,  the 
essential  point  in  the  headline: 

(1)  "The  Trend  of  Demand  Is 
Toward  Safe  6  Percent  Bonds  Se- 
cured  by  a  Thousand  Farms," 

(2)  "Two  Helpful  Books  That 
You  Will  Welcome  Into  Your 
Home. ' ' 

(3)  "This  Pile  of  Dirt  Was 
Removed  by  an  Automatic  Vacuum 
Cleaner. ' ' 

(4)  If  You  Want  to  Economize 
Use  "Diamond  Dyes." 

(5)  Why  Pay  War  Prices  for 
French  and  Italian  Olive  Oil? 

(6)  An  Excellent  6%  Invest- 
ment for  Your  Present  Funds. 

(7)  A  Message  to  Every  Owner 
of  a  Victor  or  Columbia  Talking 
Machine. 

(8)  Don't  Throw  Away  Your 
Worn  Tires. 

(9)  If  You  Can't  Reduce  Your 
Cost  of  Living  Let  Us  Show  You 
How  to  Increase  Your  Income. 

(10)  A  New  Way  to  Meet  an 
Old  Difficulty. 

(11)  "Are  You  a  Leader  or  a 
Trailer? 

(12)  You  are  paying  for  it — 
Why  not  have  it? 

4.  Reconstruct  the  following  ad- 
vertisements so  as  to  give  proper 
emphasis  to  the  essential  feature  in 
each  (Figures  26,  27,  and  28). 


It  will  piovy  iiii  inspiratinn  if  you  contemplate 
buildiiit;  or  remodelinij,  It  is  filled  with  illus- 
trations, floor  plans  and  desttiptions  of  fine 
homes,  all  made  with  some  form  of  concrete. 
You  will  learn,  among  other  things,  that  suc- 
cessful concrete  construction  demands  cement 
of  the  right  quality — the  quality  that  has  made 
*»  "TP  I         *»     ^^  PORTLAND 

M  I    L.AO    CEMENT 

THE    STAI^OARO    AMERICAN    BRAND 
Other  boolis  you  should  have  are : 

C«ncr«taCoa«tniclt«a«boitl  lb«  Homcandon  tK«  F«rm  Tr*9 
Coac*«te  in  Hiihway  Ceiutruclion  ....  $1.0U 
R«i«iorc«(l  Concrete  in  Factorr  Cviutruclion 


1  ot  print)  . 


Atlas  Portland  Cement  is  made  of  jicnuim- 
Portland  Cement  Rock.  It  contains  no  furnace 
slag.  It  is  the  brand  bought  by  the  Cjovernment 
for  the  Panama  Canal.  If  yoilr  dealer  cannot 
supply  you  w  ith  Adas,  write  to 

THE  ATLAS  PORTUNo  CEMENT  co. 

Dipt.  «0      30  Broaxl  Slrael,  New  Yerd 

Li»rcc«*  Pf^'u'^''\e  cepacitv  oj  ntiv  remctit  company  in 


iple.  o( 

^   ■•Ubuatofc<>nrre<e>n<! 

contftlns  Infortnatton  of  practice] 


EMPHASIS  AND  UNITY 


71 


FiGUEE  27 


mfm  UmA$mm  Wsm 

\      "All  tHe  Argument  Necessary" 

The  International  Journal  of  Surgery,  August,  1905,  under  the  heading 
i  "CYSTITIS"  says:  "In  the  treatment  of  Cystitis  water  is  the  great  aid  to  all  ; 
r  forms  of  medica-  nnmutA  Iituia  WatiM>  '^  ^^°  ^'^^^l  form  in  which  to 
f  tion.  Moreover,  lHlrrAtU  Ml fllA  iTiiUjK  administer  it  to  the  cystitic 
i  patient,  as  it  is  not  onl.\  u  pure  solvent,  but  has  the  additional  virtue  of  contain- 
j  ing  substantial  quantities  of  the  alkaline  Lithates.  Patients  should  be  encouraged 
■  to  take  from  two  to  four  quarts  per  day  if  they  can,  and  the  relief  they  will 
obtain  will  be  all  the  argument  necessar>' after  the  first  day  or  so. " 

i  Dr.  Geo.  Ben.  Johnston,  M.  D.  LL  D.,  R'tchmond,    Fa.,  Ex-President 

j  Soutlicm  Surgical  and  Giffiecological  Association,  Ex-Fresident  Virginia  Medieal 
\  Society,  and  Pro/cs-sor  of  Gynecofogy  and  Abdominal  Surgery,  Medical  College 
;  of  Virginia:  "If  I  were  asked  what  mineral  water  has  the  widest  range 
I  of  usefulness,  I  would  RtrcraiA  Iituik  UTatco  '"  ^"^^  Acid  Diathesis, 
unhesitatingly  answer,  OUrfAWI  UlnlAWfllfcK  Gout,  Rheumatism,  Uth- 

aemia,  and  the  like,  its  action  is  prompt  and  lasting Almost  any  case 

of  Pyelitis  and  Cystitis  will  be  alleviated  by  it,  and  many  cured." 

Medical  tcstinioniu'.s  rr.aiK^d.     For  sale  by  the  general  drug  and  mineral  water  trade. 
■  •.;:;!  Oteiis  June  J5lh 

\  BUFFALO  LtTHtASi>RUJG$li[rERC$i?^^iSl.j 


Figure  28 


CHAPTER  VII 
CONTRAST:  THE  USE  OF  COLORS  AND  NOVEL  FEATURES 

The  Principle  of  Contrast.  Numerous  unusual  devices  for 
securing  attention  are  being  used  at  the  present  time  which 
may  be  grouped  together  under  the  principle  of  contrast,  or 
novelty.  This  law  states  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
duration  and  degree  of  attention  depend  upon  the  contrast 
of  an  object  with  surrounding  objects.  A  flash  of  light  at 
night,  a  man  wearing  an  Indian  blanket  in  a  city,  a  cool  gust 
of  wind  on  a  hot  July  day,  a  shrill  sound  in  a  forest,  all  com- 
pel attention  by  reason  of  contrast  with  their  surroundings. 
C  An  Experimental  Test  of  Contrast.  The  force  of  contrast 
may  be  demonstrated  in  many  ways.  One  method  used  was 
to  expose  before  a  group  of  persons,  for  a  brief  interval  of 
time,  a  card  containing  twenty-five  words  —  twenty  printed 
in  black,  and  five,  scattered  among  the  rest,  printed  in  red. 
Immediately  after  the  exposure  each  person  recorded  the 
words  he  had  noticed.  This  test,  made  with  twenty-four 
persons,  yielded  the  following  results : 


In  Red 


Number  of  words  exposed 

Total  noticed  bv  24  persons. . . 

Average  noticed  per  person 

Percentage  noticed  per  person. 


Hence  the  words  printed  in  red  had  approximately  eight 
times  as  great  a  chance  of  being  noticed  as  the  words  printed 
in  black.  And  obviously  the  advertisement  which  has  a  really 
novel  and  striking  feature  has  far  greater  power  of  attracting 
attention. 

Another  example  of  the  principle  of  contrast  is  to  be 
found  in  objects  or  stimuli  which  change  quickly  or  vary 
suddenly  from  their  normal  behavior.     The  clock  in  your 

72 


CONTRAST 


73 


room  may  not  be  noticed  as  long  as  it  continues  to  tick,  but  as 
soon  as  it  stops  your  attention  is  at  once  aroused.  The  investi- 
gator Preyer  is  reported  to  have  placed  a  frog  in  cold  water. 
He  then  raised  the  temperature  of  the  water  to  the  boiling 


Tk® 

Ts.nI} 

S)iP-Dr®S®®dl 

Mfe:>iR.  S4a.fi^{ls 

®turi  #r®ijs^  4k®  t,ip®-w4i 

1 1    i.v   n 

)\\  nor 

OTiiy  f,n/tii»uil>h\ 

bur  at  tua!l\ 

fntf^ii/ 

ami  economic; 

1  for  cNcrx   man 

lo  wt'.ir  rcri! 

huilr- 

out  '^akn  are   •k*i>vi:nn. 
fw  ihi*  R^wal  T»tl.. 


T_h  e      Royal     Tail  or  s 


Figure  29 
Novelty  in  the  illustration.     Contrast  in  size  of  human  figures 


point  at  such  a  slow  rate  that  the  frog  made  no  reaction  what- 
ever. The  frog  was  boiled  without  noticing  any  uncomfort- 
able increase  in  temperature.  The  change  was  too  gradual  to 
attract  attention  or  provoke  a  response. 

Contrast  or  novelty  makes  such  a  strong  impression  be- 
cause it  has  sieh  a  deep-seated  physiological  basis,  not  only 


74 


ADVERTISING 


in  man,  but  in  the  lower  animals  as  well.  Any  sudden  change 
in  the  environment  requires  attention,  because  it  is  usually  a 
vital  matter,  and  may  endanger  the  life  of  the  animal.  Thus 
a  change  in  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  stimulates 
birds  to  migrate,  or  else  they  would  perish. 


lftHLfl>  ^»«Kll 


Most  Shoes  Starve  to  Death —  •' 
Thanks   to   the   Leather   Trust  «] 

Yow  ordinary  shoe  breaks  down  because  all  the  lifo  ha.';  beenl 

vi-d  out  of  the  loatluT  in  the  Vtimma:.  "3 

Tliat's  Trust  liatlitT — tanneil  »-i(h  aihilterants,  with  fhcniir«lt.J 

rith  any  proce<:<^  that  nil!  cheapen  the  leather  for  the  prdllt  > 

pf  the  Leather  Truat.  l| 

J<i(acrv««— Tea  BHt  trt  EwlMwttJelMaM  AooL  i^ 

KadiR>«t.  iJuMns  li  C«.  ftM  Ui»  ody  Aeft  liwilfaituull  la  Ikis  caaatfy  '  r 

■  urn  tMr  ««a  liallMr.    Thay  afa  lAdapandaat  of  riw  taatlwr  TniA 
Ym  nil  (rt  ana  (rir  aat  ai  BvlkMMokan  akoa  Itaa  mr  <><1h' a*^ 

T^»gl|rt«tylc  'rMH    timii     iaUl.tri*.li 

Vaa  aill  la^a  M  aMa  la  •!  •»  ••  a»a«l  >a>.  tailii  a 
I  4ira<  la  nw  kaiaa  ikoa  dnin— aa  ptaila  la  Ihab  If 
,Typytiu.(0»ii»Mi  W<k)ii  IkcirJnsiadbMbaai 

ENDWrXL  *—  umUm  p-i«l  laa«  eorf«l  aftk  al 
IMb  a>«li.li  tmtm  Ikat  a  ml  aaau  la  •ia^'^n    T»» 
u<lm    a  M  iaac>  at  la<l    arilT  andU  •(  Wa-al 

^ttl.«  Xim  aiat — »Usipe4   »B    ev«t7    «b«a— 

NDWELL 

ENOWELL  SHOE  STORE 

200  WEST  WATER  tT^ 


^u 


FiGUKE    oO 

Overemphasis  of  novelty  in  the  illustration  tends  to  withhold 
attention  from  the  essential  points  of  the  advertisement 


In  man,  anything  novel  appeals  to  the  instinct  of  curiosity 
and  consequently  is  a  strong  incentive  for  closer  attention  and 
interest. 

Contrast  Devices.  Some  of  the  devices  based  on  the  law 
of  contrast  which  are  in  common  use  are  the  fol  pwing :  Black, 


CONTBAST 


75 


gray,  or  colored  backgrounds ;  large  amounts  of  vacant  white 
space;  odd  shapes,  circles,  ovals,  curves,  diagonal  lines; 
bizarre  type;  unusual  illustrations;  diagonal  or  inverted 
position  of  cuts ;  odd  borders ;  unusual  arrangements  of  type 
and  words;  and  so  on  indefinitely.  (See  Figures  29  and  30.) 
Practically  all  of  these  devices  have  been  used  to  advantage 
under  certain  conditions.  Some  are  more  useful  than  others. 
All  of  them,  however,  if  used  frequently,  lose  their  novelty 
and  become  commonplace.    The  strength  of  the  device  lies  in 


Telanian— 
a  distinctive  fabric  finish 
for  business  stationery 

M(wr  Aikirw  and  pronounced  than  our  Ltnrn 
Fimsh.  and  ^om  a  <Mercnt  wtave.  Such  a  finish 
on  a  Kigb-^ade  bond  ptpef  like 

Strathmore 
Parchment 

liuiL^s  It  p<MJ«bIe  to  •'^•i'*  a  dignijied  bunnesa 

paper  that  ihowi  diar-nminatioo   and    icIcctioA. 

It  you  prcfrt-  liw  gUzed  gi  iKr  liocn  finish,  (he 


STRAUIMORF,  PARaiMENT  • 


PARawEvr,  1 


Figure  31 


Figure  32 


The  advertisements  in  Figs.  31  and  32  appeared  in  a  magazine 
on  opposite  pages,  facing  each  other.     By  virtue  of  their  con- 
trast of  black  and  white  they  tend  to  enhance  and  strengthen 
each  .other 

its  newness.    The  advertiser  is  forced,  therefore,  continuously 
to  exercise  his  ingenuity  and  originality. 

Furthermore,  some  of  the  above  schemes  are  accompanied 
by  serious  objections.  For  example,  any  background  other 
than  white  makes  the  advertisement,  as  a  rule,  more  difficult 
to  read.  The  same  is  true  of  bizarre  type,  or  unusual  arrange- 
ments of  words.    A  dead-black  background  often  is  repulsive 


76 


ADVEBTISING 


to  the  aesthetic  sense.  In  such  cases  it  is  a  question  of  balanc- 
ing the  advantages  against  the  disadvantages,  and  determining 
according  to  the  best  judgment  whether  the  device  can  be  used 
effectively.  These  and  other  points  will  be  considered  in  their 
appropriate  connections  under  other  topics. 

Black  and  White  Contrast.  One  of  the  most  common 
forms  of  contrast  is  that  of  black  and  white.  A  dark  shade 
and  a  light  shade  close  together  tend  to  make  each  other  ap- 
pear darker  and  lighter,  respectively,  than  they  would  appear 
separately.  Notice  the  illustrations  on  page  75.  This  fact 
is  an  important  one  to  consider  in  the  construction  of  adver- 
tisements and  in  the  combination  of  adjacent  advertisements 
in  a  medium.  Some  advertisements  by  virtue  of  their  con- 
trast tend  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  each  other,  while 
others  tend  to  weaken  each  other. 

Use  of  Colors.  Let  us  turn  now  to  a  more  thorough 
consideration  of  the  uses  and  values  of  colors.  Their  chief 
uses  in  advertisements  may  be  classified  under  three  heads  — 
artistic-value,  attention-value,  and  illustrative-value. 

Artistic-Value  of  Different  Colors.  Some  interesting 
studies  have  recently  been  made  concerning  the  relative 
attractiveness  of  colors.  Professor  Wissler,^  at  Columbia 
University,  tested  the  color  preference  of  some  three  hundred 
men  and  women  and  found  striking  likes  and  dislikes,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  following  table : 


TESTS  ON  MEN 

TESTS  ON  WOMEN 

Percentaobs 

Percentages 

Prefer- 
ence 

Preju- 
dice 

Differ- 
ence' 

Prefer- 
ence 

Preju- 
dice 

Differ- 
ence' 

Red 

Orange 

Yellow 

Green 

Blue 

Violet 

White 

22 
5 
2 
7 
42 
19 
3 

7 
25 
32 
15 
12 
8 
1 

15 

-20 

-30 

-8 

30 

11 

2 

42 
8 
5 
9 
9 

19 
8 

8 
31 

8 
21 
23 

9 

0 

34 
-23 

-3 
-12 
-14 

10 
8 

1.  Correlation  oj  Mental  and  Psychical  Teat,  p.   17. 

2.  Difference  between  preferences  and  prejudices.     The  minus  sign  means 
a  preponderance  of  prejudices  over  preferences. 


CONTRAST  77 

The  author  made  a  test  with  133  persons  —  69  men  and  64 
women  —  using  ten  standard  Hering  colors  mounted  on  a 
white  background.  Each  person  numbered  the  colors  in  the 
order  of  his  preference,  putting  the  most  agreeable  color  first, 
the  next  most  agreeable  color  second,  etc.  The  following  table 
indicates  the  results  of  the  experiment.  The  smaller  the  num- 
ber attached,  the  more  highly  the  color  was  preferred. 

Test  on  Men  Test  on  Women 

Blue 2.4  Eed    3.3 

Red    2.5  Blue 4.1 

Purple 3.4  Greenish  Blue 4.8 

Violet  4.0  Violet 5.2 

Green   4.8  Green 5.5 

Orange » 5.5  Yellow    6.1 

Greenish  Blue 6.8  Bluish  Green 6.3 

Bluish  Green 7.2  Purple 6.5 

Yellowish  Green • 8.8  Orange    6.6 

Yellow 9.0  Yellowish  Green 6.7 

These  two  investigations  agree  fairly  closely.  Both  show 
that  the  most  agreeable  color  for  the  men  is  blue,  and  for  the 
women  red,  and  that  the  second  choice  for  the  men  is  red, 
and  for  the  women  blue,^  It  will  be  noticed  that  red  and  blue 
are  practically  a  tie  for  first  choice  with  the  men  in  the  second 
table. 

Jastrow  took  a  color  census  of  4500  men  and  women  at  the 
World's  Fair  in  Chicago  in  1893.^  He  found  that  blue  is 
preeminently  the  masculine  favorite  and  red  the  feminine 
favorite. 

Grant  Allen,  basing  his  statement  on  the  reports  of  mis- 
sionaries, places  the  color  preference  of  primitive  people  as 
red,  blue,  and  green. 

In  view  of  these  facts  and  their  practical  bearing  upon 
advertising,  it  is  important  to  notice  the  distinction  between 
color  preference,  or  artistic-value,  and  attention-value.  The 
advertiser  must,  of  course,  use  those  colors  which  not  only 
arrest  attention  but  which  at  the  same  time  are  agreeable  to 

1.  Or  violet  in  the  first  table. 

2.  Jastrow,  J.,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Vol.  L,  p.  361. 


78 


ADVERTISING 


the  eye,  so  that  the  eye  may  be  held  upon  the  advertisement 
rather  than  be  repelled  from  it. 

Attention-Value  of  Colors.  Gale  made  some  tests  to 
determine,  by  his  rapid  exposure  method,^  the  pure  atten- 
tion-value as  distinguished  from  the  artistic-value  of  colors. 
He  exposed  various  colors  for  an  instant  on  a  white  back- 
ground to  determine  which  ones  would  be  noticed  most  fre- 
quently and  most  easily.  His  results  are  stated  in  the  follow- 
ing table,  which  gives  the  number  of  times  each  color  was 
noticed  and  the  percentage  of  times  each  color  was  noticed 
of  the  total  number  of  times  that  all  the  colors  were  noticed : 


Test  on  9  Men 

Test  on 

7  Women 

AVEBAGE 

Red 

Black 

88 

151 

87 

88 

21 

8 

4 

19.5% 
33.5 
19.3 
19.5 

5.3 

1.7 
.8 

113 

43 
66 
38 
38 
29 
23 

32.2% 

12.2 

18.8 

10.8 

10.8 

8.2 

6.5 

25.9% 
22.9 

Green 

19.1 

Orange 

15.2 

Blue 

8.1 

Purple 

Yellow 

5.0 
3.7 

The  attention-value  of  colors  is  in  the  order  mentioned  in 
the  table.  Red  has  the  greatest  attention-value,  black  is  next, 
while  purple  and  yellow  have  the  least.  Apparently  there  are 
differences  between  the  sexes,  but  the  number  of  men  and 
women  is  too  small  to  make  a  significant  comparison.  It  is 
interesting  that  red  is  first  in  attention-value  and  also  first 
in  preference  for  the  women  and  second  for  the  men,  while 
blue  is  first  in  preference  for  the  men  and  second  for  the 
women,  but  it  is  considerably  farther  down  the  list  in  atten- 
tion-value. 

Red  has  greater  attention-value  than  any  other  color 
because  it  arouses  greater  physiological  activity  in  the  retina 
of  the  eye,  and  possibly  because  it  has  long  been  associated 
with  war  and  bloodshed.  Artists  call  it  a  warm  color,  in  con- 
trast with  blue  as  a  cold  color. 

In  this  connection  it  is  significant  to  notice  that  red,  next 
to  black,  is  the  most  frequently  used  color  in  advertisements 

1.  Gale,  H.,  Psychological  Studies,  p.  56. 


CONTRAST  79 

in  which  the  color  is  not  determined  by  the  natural  color  of 
the  object  illustrated  in  the  advertisement  but  in  which  it  is 
chosen  for  its  power  of  attraction.  A  tabulation  of  cojored 
advertisements  appearing  in  various  magazines  showed  that 
77  percent  used  red,  19  percent  brown,  8  percent  blue,  6 
percent  orange,  6  percent  green,  6  percent  yellow,  and  5 
percent  purple. 

Illustrative- Value  of  Colors.  In  addition  to  the  uses 
already  mentioned,  colors  also  have,  as  a  rule,  a  very  high 
illustrative-value.  Thus  by  means  of  colors  it  is  possible  to/ 
represent  adequately  and  correctly  the  natural  appearance 
of  the  article  —  its  texture,  grain,  pattern,  outline,  quality, 
etc.  The  reader  obtains  thereby  a  far  more  realistic  impres- 
sion of  the  object  as  it  actually  appears,  and  is  able  to  imagine 
it  with  much  greater  facility  and  clearness.  This  is  especially 
true  of  such  articles  as  clothing  and  rugs.  Excellent  exam- 
ples may  be  seen  in  almost  any  high  grade  advertising 
medium.  ' 

Furthermore,  the  use  of  colors  enables  the  customer  to 
recognize  packages,  cartons,  and  articles  much  better  than 
the  simple  use  of  a  name  or  trade-mark  does.  Good  illustra- 
tions are  the  cartons  used  for  foods,  canned  goods,  toilet 
articles,  etc.  Recall,  for  example,  the  packages,  labels,  and 
wrappers  of  the  National  Biscuit  Company,  Colgate  &  Co., 
J.  B.  Williams  &  Co. 

Colors  also  aid  in  producing  perspective.  Red  seems 
nearer  than  blue  at  the  same  distance,  and  a  bright  object 
seems  nearer  than  a  dark  one.  These  differences  in  shades 
and  tints  of  colors  help  in  creating  an  appearance  of  perspec- 
tive and  depth  in  the  presentation  of  objects,  which  makes 
them  seem  more  realistic  and  true  to  life. 

Opinions  of  Big  Advertisers.  The  potency  and  effective- 
ness of  colors  are  indicated  by  the  very  wide  use  of  colors  to- 
day in  car  cards,  posters,  booklets,  and  even  in  magazines.  A 
recent  inquiry  made  by  Printer's  Ink^  among  over  a  dozen 
leading  national  advertisers  concerning  their  reasons  for  using 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  December  19,  1912,  p.  40. 


80  ADVERTISING 

color  in  advertisements  showed  the  following  points  as  justifi- 
cation for  the  extra  cost  of  color : 

1.  Color  is  more  attractive  than  black  and  white. 

2.  Color  produces  the  package  as  it  really  is. 

3.  Color  emphasizes  the  trade-mark, 

4.  Color  gives  atmosphere. 

V''    5.  Color  will  keep  the  advertisement  on  the  library  table. 
'^    6.  Color  is  useful  when  the  product  itself  is  in  colors; 
for  example,  paint. 

7.  Color  has  an  innate  appeal  which  is  worth  the  price. 

8.  Color  achieves,  through  judicious  combinations,  dis- 
tinctiveness for  an  advertisement  over  others  in  the  same  issue. 

9.  Colored  advertisements  attract  a  better  class  of  replies. 
10.  Colored  advertisements  are  advisable  for  conventional 

reasons  in  preferred  positions. 

"Pulling  Power"  of  Color.  A  writer  in  Advertising  and 
Selling^  discusses  the  additio^ial  cost  of  color  printing  com- 
pared with  its  additional  "pulling  power."  Although  he  cal- 
culates that  a  booklet  illustrated  by  the  three-color  process 
costs  four  times  as  much  as  the  same  booklet  illustrated  in 
black,  he  nevertheless  concludes  that  the  extra  cost  is  abund- 
antly justified.    To  quote : 

Does  it  possess  four  times  the  attention-value  and  sales-power  of 
the  book  illustrated  in  black  only?  .  .  .  The  answer  is,  it  does.  Excel- 
lent proof  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  big  mail  order  houses,  which 
figure  costs  and  results  down  to  the  fraction  of  a  penny,  pay  the  four- 
fold cost  of  color  process  work  without  a  murmur,  use  more  of  it  every 
year,  and  have  found  by  comparative  tests  that  a  cut  in  color  will 
sometimes  sell  as  high  as  .fifteen  times  as  many  goods  as  a  black  cut. 

Mr.  Harvey  Conover,^  of  Thomas  Cusack  Company,  states 
that  the  label  of  a  cough-drop  package  was  changed  from 
white  to  a  design  in  red,  white,  green,  and  gold.  In  the 
former  case  it  was  unsuccessful,  while  in  the  latter  it  met 
with  immediate  success. 

The  mail  order  houses  have  perhaps  better  opportunities 
for  ascertaining  the  effectiveness  of  color  than  almost  any 

1.  Advertising  and  Selling,  Vol.  19,  p.  1196. 

2.  Printer's  Ink,  December  19,  1912,  p.  31. 


L- 


CONTBAST  81 

other  form  of  business.  In  response  to  an  inquiry  for  accu- 
rate data  the  author  received  the  following  replies  from  two 
well-known  firms  in  Chicago.     From  one  firm: 

The  value  of  colored  advertising  material  is  pretty  well  established, 
although  we  cannot,  from  our  own  business,  give  you  any  definite  ratio 
of  pulling  power  as  compared  with  black  and  white. 

Colored  advertising  is  one  of  the  many  topics  in  which  generalizing 
is  dangerous.  If  color  is  an  essential  feature  of  the  merchandise  then  a 
colored  illustration  is  pretty  sure  to  pay  if  quality  and  price  are  right 
according  to  market  conditions.  The  elements  entering  into  this  question 
are  numerous  enough  to  make  a  book.  It  has  been  found,  for  instance, 
that  a  single  word  in  red  ink  increased  the  pulling  power  of  a  certain 
advertisement  exactly  one-third.  This  was  plainly  due  to  the  contrast 
afforded  and  would  not  be  the  case  if  other  color  printing  had  been 
in  competition  with  the  same  advertisement. 

Generally'  speaking,  our  experience  with  colored  advertising  is,  that 
it  has  great  possibilities  for  increasing  business  but  must  be  used  with 
caution  on  account  of  the  expense  and  the  many  other  factors  involved. 

From  the  other  firm : 

We  have  found  that  color  cuts  pull  a  great  deal  better  in  practically 
every  instance  and  their  additional  cost  is  fully  warranted  by  the 
tremendous  increase  in  the  business  that  they  draw. 


PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  two  illustrations,  not  from  advertising,  of  the  meaning  of 
contrast  as  a  means  of  stimulating  attention. 

2.  Obtain  an  advertisement  to  illustrate  each  of  the  following  ways 
of  producing  contrast:  Unusual  border,  unusual  background,  unusual 
position,  and  unusual  illustration. 

3.  What  objections  can  you  give  to  the  use  of  a  black  or  colored 
background,  or  to  unusual  position  of  type,  which  tend  to  counteract 
the  advantage  of  their  contrast? 

4.  What  are  the  main  factors  involved  in  considering  whether  or 
not  colors  are  to  be  used  in  an  advertisement? 

5.  Mention  two  or  three  articles  in  the  advertising  of  which  the 
use  of  color  would  probably  be  of  special  value,  and  two  or  three  for 
which  color  would  afford  little  or  no  advantage.  Give  reasons  for  your 
opinion. 

6.  What  factors  determine  the  kind  of  color  or  colors  that  shall  be 
used?  In  answering  this  question  notice  the  colors  used  on  the  covers  of 
magazines. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BOEDERS;  EYE-MOVEMENT  AND  ATTENTION 

One  further  group  of  devices  for  focusing  attention  and 
producing  emphasis  consists  of  the  different  types  of  borders 
and  their  modified  forms,  such  as  panels,  circles,  and  lines. 

The  Function  of  Borders.  Borders  have  four  more  or 
less  distinct  uses:  (1)  When  properly  applied  they  tend  to 
increase  the  attention-value  of  advertisements.  (2)  They  lend 
unity,  compactness,  and  individuality.  (3)  They  serve  to 
separate  small  advertisements  on  the  same  page  from  one 
another.  (4)  They  may  be  used  to  add  a  decorative  and 
illustrative  value  to  advertisements.  Examine  the  illustra- 
tions in  this  chapter,  noticing  how  these  uses  are  exemplified. 

Let  us  consider  these  various  uses  a  little  more  in  detail. 
First,  the  attention-value  of  borders.  For  a  small  advertise- 
ment a  border  is  practically  indispensable.  The  border  is 
necessary  to  set  it  off  from  the  other  advertisements  on  the 
same  page  and  give  it  an  individuality  of  its  own.  Observe 
the  illustrations  given  in  this  chapter.  In  this  connection  it 
is  interesting  to  notice  that  throughout  the  early  years  of 
advertising,  borders  were  much  less  conspicuous  than  at 
present,  and  for  this  reason  the  advertisements  of  a  page 
frequently  formed  a  more  or  less  undivided  mass.  Compare 
the  two  illustrations  on  this  point.     (Figures  33  and  34.) 

Moreover,  the  full-page  advertisement  in  most  instances 
is  enhanced  by  a  border,  even  though  it  be  a  simple  one. 
Compare  the  illustrations  given  on  the  following  page,  no- 
ticing the  appearance  of  unity  and  completeness  of  the  sec- 
ond in  contrast  with  the  first.  The  border  adds  a  touch  of 
finish  and  pictorial  attractiveness  which  the  borderless  adver- 
tisement does  not  possess. 

Then,  too,  the  various  modified  forms  of  the  border,  such 
as  circles,  lines,  arrows,  underscoring  bars,  contracted  borders, 

82 


BOBDEBS 


83 


panels,  and  the  like,  are  employed  to  set  off  and  emphasize 
important  features  of  an  advertisement  which  are  to  receive 
special  attention.     Notice  the  accompanying  examples. 

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Figure  33 


FiGUKE  34 


The  advertisement  in   Figure   33   appeared  in   1879.     It   is  a 

typical   illustration   of  ,the   absence   of   borders    at  that   time. 

Figure  34  contains  an  appropriate  border  illustrating  present 

practice 

Increase  in  Use  of  Borders.  It  is  noteworthy  that  borders 
are  a  recent  element  in  the  construction  of  advertisements.  In 
the  early  days  they  were  almost  wholly  absent  from  the  large 
advertisements.  Of  course  the  small  spaces  have  always 
required  a  means  of  separation,  and  consequently  some  form  of 
border  has  always  been  present,  however  inconspicuous  at 
times.  The  increase  in  the  use  of  borders  is  indicated  in  the 
table  below  which  shows  the  percentage  of  full-page  advertise- 
ments in  standard  magazines  using  borders. 


Percentage  of  Full-Page  Advertisements 
Possessing  Borders 


1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 


6% 
38% 
82% 


84  ADFEBTISING 

There  has  been  a  remarkable  increase  from  the  time  when 
large  advertisements  rarely  had  a  border  until  today  when 
nearly  every  one  has  a  border.  The  slight  decrease  for  1910 
is  probably  an  accidental  fluctuation.  The  enhancing  effect 
has  thus  gradually  been  realized. 

Arresting  Eye-Movement.  Borders  also  increase  the 
attention-value  by  their  tendency  to  arrest  eye-movement.  The 


Figure  35 

vertical  lines  of  the  border  run  at  right  angles  to  the  usual 
horizontal  movement  of  the  eyes  as  they  glance  from  page 
to  page.  It  is  a  well-known  and  easily  demonstrated  observa- 
tion that  objects,  and  more  particularly  crosslines,  in  the  path 
of  the  movement  of  the  eyes  tend  to  arrest  the  eyes.  The 
right-hand  section  of  the  horizontal  line  in  Figure  35  looks 
longer  than  the  left-hand  section  because  the  crosslines  tend 
to  arrest  the  eyes  as  they  sweep  over  them,  thus  requiring 
more  energy  and  consequently  making  that  part  of  the  line 
appear  longer.  The  same  phenomenon  of  arrested  eye-move- 
ment can  be  shown  by  taking  photographic  records  of  the 
movements  of  the  eyes. 

Now,  it  is  this  function  which  borders  and  other  lines  of 
the  border  variety  serve.  They  tend,  by  mechanical  stimula- 
tion, to  stop  the  sweep  of  the  eyes.  And  the  point  upon 
which  the  eyes  are  focused  is  usually  the  point  upon  which 
the  visual  attention  is  centered.  If  the  eye  is  arrested,  the 
attention  also  usually  is  arrested.  This  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  it  is  rather  difficult  for  a  person  to  direct  the  atten- 
tion to  some  object  off  toward  the  side  in  the  indirect  field  of 
vision,  while  the  eyes  are  focused  upon  another  point.  Long 
established  habits  have  associated  the  center  of  vision  with 
the  focus  of  visual  attention. 

It  is  this  principle  of  arresting  and  directing  the  move- 
ment of  the  eyes  which  makes  such  devices  as  circles,  panels, 
and  lines  of  all  sorts,  valuable  for  securing  emphasis  upon  an 
advertisement  or  upon  some  of  its  features. 


BOBBERS 


85 


Rules  for  the  Use  of  Borders.  Much  care  must  be  exer- 
cised in  the  use  of  these  devices  so  that  they  may  not  be 
employed  unnecessarily  or  act  as  counter-attractions.  Notice 
Figure  37  and  the  comments  made  upon  it. 


Qf^uzii^^a 

1 

1 

1       SHAW  STOCKP>C  CO.  11  SMMttSc  L«-<IL  ^Imv.        A 

Figure  36 


Figure  37 


Figure  36  shows  a  unique  illustrative  border.     Figure  37  gives 

an  example  of  a  decorative  border.     It  is  too  elaborate  and 

tends  to  detract  from  the  advertisement  itself 


The  size^  and  nature  of  the  border  to  be  used  for  a  given 
advertisement  depend  upon  the  size  and  nature  of  the  adver- 
tisement, and  upon  the  article  advertised.  As  a  general  rule 
a  plain,  simple  border  is  preferable  to  a  fancy,  elaborate 
border.  In  fact,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  an  elaborate,  ornamental 
border  should  not  be  used  unless  there  are  special  reasons 
for  it, — in  instances,  for  example,  in  which  it  would  distinctly 
enhance  the  attractiveness  or  illustrative-value  of  the  adver- 
tisement.   Such  would  be  the  case  with  commodities  in  which 

1.  The  size  of  standard  borders  is  indicated  by  means  of  the  point 
system  in  tbe  same  manner  as  type  sizes  are  indicated.  The  standard  straight 
line  borders  usually  run  from  one  to  twelve  points  in  "width.  The  standard 
fancy  borders  usually  are  wider  and  range  from  6  to  36  points.  The  latter 
widths  are  rarely  used  because  they  are  apt  to  be  too  heavy  and  too  con- 
spicuous. 


86 


ADVEBTISING 


the  artistic  or  decorative  aspect  is  particularly  important. 
Illustrations  of  these  points  are  given  in  the  accompanying 
examples.  The  elaborate  border  is  apt  to  attract  the  eye  to 
itself  rather  than  to  the  central  feature  of  the  advertisement. 


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Figure  38 


How  many  advertisements  are  there  on  this  page?    Absence  of 
borders  for  small  advertisements  confuses  the  reader 


BOBDEBS 


87 


TUTO  HORN 

A  Two-Tone  Electric  Horn  with  Co 
pkle  E^ipBKal  f  2S.0O— uy  rioiiL 

w 


dialiactii*  and  cqoiuwul 
St:C4Mt  :  ft  is  QutHitT  ai 


Te«t  th 


Figure  39 

How  many  advertisements?     Too 
many  borders 


NO  IRRITATION 
THE   BLADE  and   THE   B 

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FlGUKE   40 

Lines  which  direct  the  movement 
of  the  eyes  to  important  features 


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Figure  41 

The  circle  helps  to  center  the  eyes 
upon  the  trade-mark 


88 


ADVERTISING 


The  border  is  only  a  secondary  matter  and  should  be  so  con- 
structed that  it  will  subserve  rather  than  dominate  the  pur- 
pose of  the  advertisement  as  a  whole. 

Directing  the  Movement  of  the  Eyes.  The  next  problem 
of  interest  in  connection  with  our  present  topic  is  that  of 
directing  the  attention  by  means  of  directing  the  movement 

of  the  eyes.  This  is 
achieved  by  various 
means,  mostly  by  lines,  ar- 
rows, position  of  cuts,  etc. 
It  is  a  general  observation 
that  the  eyes  tend  to  fol- 
low along  any  line  of  sug- 
gested movement.  For  ex- 
ample, they  have  a  tenden- 
cy to  follow  along  the 
direction  in  which  a  per- 
son is  looking  or  walking. 
The  implied  suggestion  is 
that  there  is  something 
interesting  and  important 
in  that  direction,  and  con- 
sequently the  eyes  almost 
involuntarily  follow  the 
suggestion.  If  you  see  a 
person  or  a  group  of  per- 
sons, intently  gazing  in  a 
certain  direction  you  al- 
most invariably  turn  your 
eyes  in  the  same  direction.  The  operation  of  this  principle 
can  best  be  shown  by  examining  the  illustrations  here  pre- 
sented. 

It  is,  of  course,  an  obvious  necessity  that  all  suggested  eye- 
movement  in  an  advertisement  should  be  such  as  to  keep  the 
eyes  centered  upon  the  advertisement  instead  of  directing  it 
away  to  some  other  adjacent  one,  or  off  the  page.  Yet  there 
are  frequent  violations  of  this  principle,  as  will  be  seen  by  a 


MAKAROFF 
RUSSIAN 
CIGARETS 

are  really  what  we  say  they  arc — a  con- 
noisseura'    proposition — strictly. 

Theoretically— "at  all  dealers.'    Actually 
—at   most  of  the    best    stores  and  clubs. 

r  cannot  or  will  not  supply  you  we 
:'cl  rather  you'd  a<k  the  dealer  fat. 


U  your  dealt 
will,  but  wc 


1 5  cent*  and  a 
$1.50   to   $6.( 


auarter  in  boxes  of  10; 
J   in    boxes   of    100. 


^^aLy/Ca^>*^o^~  /3a-'9::^Gr>^ 


Figure  42 

The  position  of  the  cut  directs  the 

movement   of    the   eyes    away    from 

the  advertisement 


B0BDEB8 


89 


study  of  Figure  42.  All  these  problems  of  eye-movement 
concern  minute,  and  apparently  unimportant,  details  in  the 
construction    of    an    advertisement,    nevertheless    they    are 


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Figure  43 


90  ADVERTISING 

worthy  of  careful  attention,  for  often  the  strength  of  an 
advertisement  depends  largely  upon  just  such  details.  It 
costs  no  more  to  have  these  minute  matters  correct,  and  cor- 
rectness in  detail  may  make  the  difference  between  success 
and  failure. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Suggest  improvements  in  the  border  of  the  illustration  in  Fig.  37. 

2.  Sketch  an  appropriate  border  for  the  advertisement  in  Fig.  33. 

3.  Oiticize  and  suggest  improvements  in  the  border,  lines,  and  other 
devices  used  for  emphasis  in  Fig.  43.     Reconstruct  the  advertisement. 

4.  What  sorts  of  advertisements  necessarily  require  borders!    What 
sorts  would  not  absolutely  need  borders? 


CHAPTER  IX 

MEDIUMS  —  GENEEAL  CONS  IDEE  ATIONS 

Problems.  Thus  far  we  have  considered  the  devices  and 
elements  in  the  structure  of  the  advertisement  itself,  which 
are  designed  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  reader.  Our  next 
question  is,  How  may  the  advertisement  be  brought  before  the 
public ;  that  is,  where  may  the  advertisement  be  placed  so  that 
it  will  receive  the  maximum  attention  from  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  potential  customers?^  This  will  necessitate  the  study 
of  two  large  problems.  (1)  An  analysis  of  comparative  merits 
of  the  various  mediums  available  today,  and  (2)  a  study  of  the 
conditions  and  factors  concerned  in  the  selection  of  mediums 
for  a  given  commodity,  or  for  a  given  campaign. 

Classes  of  Mediums.     The  various  advertising  mediums 
may  be  classified  as  follows: 
First,  a  large  group  of  printed  periodicals — 

1.  Newspapers  —  daily  and  weekly. 

2.  Magazines. 

3.  Trade  and  professional  journals  —  including  agricul- 
tural and  mercantile  papers. 

Second,  outdoor  and  miscellaneous  mediums — 

4.  Billboards  and  outdoor  signs. 

5.  Street  railway  cards, 

6.  Circulars,  booklets,  catalogues,  letters. 

7.  Novelties  —  calendars,  blotters,  etc. 

8.  House  organs. 

9.  Miscellaneous  —  directories,  programs,  handbills,  etc. 
Relative  Prominence  of  Mediums.  The  relative  impor- 
tance of  the  various  classes  of  mediums  and  the  relative  ex- 
tent to  which  they  are  used  may  be  roughly  indicated  by  the 
sums  of  money  paid  annually  for  advertising  space  in 
them.    The  following  estimate  was  recently  made  by  Printer's 

91 


92  ADVESTISING 

Ink,^  showing  the  approximate  amounts  of  money  annually 
spent  in  the  United  States  for  advertising  in  the  chief 
mediums. 

Newspaper  advertising $250,000,000 

Direct  mail  advertising 100,000,000 

Farm  and  mail  order 75,000,000 

Magazine  advertising  60,000,000 

Novelty 30,000,000 

Billposting  30,000,000 

Outdoor-Electric  Signs 25,000,000 

Demonstration  and  sampling 18,000,000 

Street  car  advertising 10,000,000 

House  organs  7,000,000 

Distributing    6,000,000 

Theater  programs 5,000,000 

$616,000,000 
Thus  we  see  that  about  40  percent  of  all  advertising  is 
done  in  the  newspapers,  about  15  percent  in  farm  and  mail- 
order journals,  and  about  10  percent  in  magazines.  Each 
type  of  medium  has  uses  and  advantages  of  its  own  and  each 
may  be  suited  to  particular  commodities.  These  points  will  be 
dealt  with  later  in  detail.  However,  as  a  preliminary  study 
let  us  examine  the  general  conditions  upon  which  the  merits 
of  a  given  medium  may  be  decided.  In  other  words,  What 
determines  the  value  of  a  medium? 

Quantity  of  Circulation.  First,  the  value  of  a  medium 
depends  upon  the  circulation, — upon  the  number  of  people 
who  see  it.  Until  recent  years,  statements  of  circulation  have 
been  utterly  unreliable.  They  were,  as  a  rule,  so  exaggerated 
that  they  had  no  meaning  whatever.  During  the  last  eight  or 
ten  years,  publishers  have  adopted  a  totally  different  attitude, 
so  that  today  nearly  all  reputable  mediums  issue  sworn 
statements  of  their  circulation  and  distribution.  The  adver- 
tiser is  entitled  to  know  just  how  many  people  he  is  apt  to 
reach  when  he  buys  space  in  a  medium.  He  is  also  entitled 
to  know  whether  the  cost  of  space  in  a  medium  is  proportion- 
ate to  the  size  of  the  circulation.  Among  magazines  there  is 
a  tendency  to  charge  according  to  a  standard  page  rate  per 
1000  of  circulation.  See  the  table  on  page  103.  These  rates 
range  from  considerably  less  than  one  dollar  per  page  per 

1.  Printer'a  Ink,  May  4,  1911,  p.  78. 


MEDIUMS— GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


93 


1000  circulation  to  over  three  dollars,  with  an  average  of 
approximately  one  dollar  and  a  quarter.  Yet  there  are  peri- 
odicals, usually  with  a  small  circulation,  whose  rates  are  far 
in  excess  of  the  value  of  the  space.  A  certain  periodical  with 
less  than  2000  circulation  charges  ten  dollars  per  page.  The 
readers  are  a  more  homogeneous  and  select  group  than  those 


Llnea  of 

advertlBlng 

1,500,000 

1,400,000 
1,300,000 

1,200,000 
1,100,000 

1, 000 i 000 
SOOiOOO 
800,000 
700,000 
600,000 


/ 

— 

_/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

i 

^, 

\ 

/ 

J 

N 

\ 

/ 

^^ 

/ 

1. 

/ 

\ 

\\ 

/ 

'1 

u 

y 

1907 

1/ 

I 

v 

\ 

\ 

// 

1 

1910 

f 

/ 

\ 

V 

A 

/ 

1909 

/ 

/ 

/ 

\ 

^ 

// 

1 

1906 

r 

> 

/ 

Figure  44 


Total  number   of   lines   of   advertising  carried   each  month   of 
each  of  the  years  indicated  in  the  leading  magazines  as  tabu- 
lated by  Printer's  Ink,  Jan.  19,  1911,  p.  30 

of  a  general  magazine,  but  even  then  the  rate  is  entirely  out 
of  proportion. 

The  seasonal  fluctuation  in  the  amount  of  advertising 
done  is  very  large.  Figure  44  shows  the  variation  for  four 
successive  years.  This  fluctuation  is  similar  from  year  to 
year.  There  are  two  very  active  periods  reaching  their  heights 
in  May  and  November  respectively,  and  two  dull  seasons 
reaching  their  lowest  point  in  January  and  August  respect- 
ively. During  these  latter  months  only  about  half  as  much 
advertising  is  done  as  during  the  former  months. 


94  ADVEBTISING 

Quality  of  Circulation.  Second,  the  value  of  a  medium 
depends  not  only  upon  the  quantity  but  also  upon  the  (luality 
of  the  circulation,  that  is,  upon  the  kind  or  class  of  people 
reached.  Thus,  for  example,  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  the 
Popular  Magazine,  or  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  Comfort, 
go  to  very  different  classes  of  people. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly,^  with  a  guaranteed  circulation  of  40,000  for 
1914,  has  the  following  distribution  of  subscribers: 

Business  men   21%  Bankers    '. 10% 

Lawyers 23%  Railroad   officials 6% 

Doctors   12%  Farmers 5% 

Clergymen   13%  Miscellaneous 10% 

^'  Here  again  the  advertiser  is  entitled  to  know  what  share 
of  the  circulation  of  a  medium  goes  to  persons  who  are  likely 
to  become  customers.  He  is  entitled  to  know  something  of  the 
financial,  social,  professional,  and  educational  status  of  the 
readers  of  a  medium.  For  example,  a  man  advertising  a  com- 
modity used  only  by  lawyers  or  by  bankers,  would  be  entitled 
to  know  whether  Collier's  or  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  or 
some  other  magazine,  has  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  lawyers 
or  bankers  among  its  readers  so  that  he  could  advertise  with 
profit  in  it.  Some  mediums  are  better  suited  than  others  for 
certain  articles.  Some  commodities  can  be  advertised  success- 
fully only  in  certain  mediums.  As  an  extreme  instance,  it 
would  be  absurd  to  advertise  church  pews  in  an  engineer's 
or  clothier's  magazine.'' 

Quality  of  Advertising  Carried.  Third,  the  value  of  a 
medium  depends  upon  the  kind  and  standard  of  advertising 
carried.  The  confidence  which  readers  have  in  the  truthful- 
ness of  an  advertisement  depends  upon  the  medium  in  which 
it  appears.  Thus  a  financial  advertisement  would  appeal  very 
differently  in  the  Literary  Digest  and  in  the  Sunday  Maga- 
zine. How  much  confidence  will  an  advertisement  command, 
even  though  it  is  literally  true  in  every  statement,  if  it  is  seen 
side  by  side  with  a  medical  advertisement  offering  a  panacea 
for  all  ills,  or  an  advertisement  guaranteeing  a  large  perma- 
nent income  from  rubber  stock? 

1.  Printer'8  Ink,  Dec.  11,  1913,  p.  51. 


MEDIUMS— GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  95 

Time  of  Issuing.  Fourth,  the  value  of  a  medium  de- 
pends, to  a  certain  extent,  upon  the  time  and  frequency  of 
issuing.  In  the  ease  of  a  newspaper,  it  may  be  important  to 
consider  whether  it  is  a  morning  or  an  evening  paper,  or  in 
the  case  of  a  magazine,  whether  it  appears  weekly  or  monthly. 

PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  On  what  basis  would  you  select  a  medium  or  mediums  for  adver- 
tising a  commodity  such  as  men's  hats?  Make  a  full  analysis  of  all 
conditions  that  would  enter.  Specify  the  mediiims  that  you  would  use 
for  a  national  campaign,  and  those  you  would  use  for  a  local  campaign. 

2.  In  what  way  does  objectionable  advertising  lower  the  value  of  a 
medium?     Illustrate. 

3.  What  kind  of  mediums  would  be  depreciated  most,  and  what  kind 
least,  by  objectionable  advertisements?  Would  the  class  of  people 
to  whom  the  medium  goes  be  a  factor  in  the  problem?  Give  reasons  for 
your  opinion. 

4.  What  factors  besides  objectionable  advertisements  aflPect  the 
confidence  in  a  medium? 


CHAPTER  X 
MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES. 

Circulation  Information  Today.  The  recent  movement 
toward  cleaner  and  better  advertising,  and  toward  honest 
statement  of  the  quantity  and  quality  of  circulation,  has  been 
led  by  the  publishers  of  magazines,  with  the  result  that  today 
the  high  grade  magazines  give  correct  circulation  analyses 
and  carry  clean  advertising.  As  an  example  of  the  minute- 
ness of  information  given  on  the  amount  and  nature  of  the 
circulation  we  may  cite  the  analysis  given  out  by  Collier's 
Weekly,  which  is  shown  on  pages  97  to  100. 

From  a  complete  statement  of  this  kind  the  advertiser 
knows  exactly  what  he  gets  when  he  buys  space,  and  he  can 
therefore  proceed  far  more  intelligently  in  the  selection  and 
use  of  mediums  than  if  he  had  merely  vague  assurances  of 
enormous  circulations  to  guide  him.  This  statement  of  the 
publishers  is  backed  by  a  guarantee  given  to  the  advertisers 
in  advance.  For  example,  the  guarantee  for  the  year  1911 
was  made  in  the  following  terms: 

Collier's  guarantees  to  every  advertiser  for  1911  an  average  of 
500,000  copies,  95  percent  of  which  is  to  be  net  paid,  for  the  numbers 
in  which  his  advertisement  appears.  A  pro-rata  refund  will  be  made 
to  every  advertiser  for  any  shortage  of  this  guarantee.  Any  advertiser 
can  have  access  to  our  circulation  books  at  any  time. 

In  one  year  there  was  a  shortage  of  13,000  copies.  A  pro- 
rata refund,  amounting  to  several  thousand  dollars,  was  made 
to  all  advertisers.  This  policy  has  been  in  effect  only  since 
1909,  yet  the  business  world  has  responded  by  manifesting 
greater  confidence^  in  its  choice  of  a  medium  than  under  the 
old  method  of  boastful  claims. 

1.  Harmon,  Batler,  Galloway,  AdvertMng,  p.  146. 

96 


MEDIUMS— MA  GAZINES 


97 


CmCTILATION  ANALYSIS  OF  COLLIER'S  THE  NATIONAL 
WEEKLY 

Issue  of  October  12,  1912 

Statement  No.  1  —  By  States 


STATEMENTS  ARE  ISSUED  UNDER  THE 
FOLLOWING    CLASSIFICATIONS 

1.  By  states 

2.  By  Buying  Centers  (i.  e.,  within 
a  twenty-five  mile  radius  of  the 
larger  cities) 

3.  By  Groups  of  Cities 

4.  By  Occupations 

5.  By  Individual  Cities  on  request 


NORTH   ATLANTIC     ''If.^-^^^^'' 

Maine 1937 

New   Hampshire. .  . .       1541 

Vermont 1373 

Massachusetts 20,336 

Rhode  Island 5708 

Connecticut   7866 

New    York '.   57,020 

New  Jersey 18,087 

Pennsylvania 43,302 

157,170       29.6 


NORTH    CENTRAL        PERCENTAGE 
OF  TOTAL 

Ohio   35,762 

Indiana 13,766 

Illinois 37,621 

Michigan   15,001 

Wisconsin 9930 

Minnesota   11,720 

Iowa 7887 

Missouri  19,403 

North  Dakota 2452 

South  Dakota 2537 

Nebraska 6417 

Kansas 8844 


171,340       32.3 


SOUTH    CENTRAL 

Kentucky 6051 

Tennessee 5551 

Alabama  4137 

Mississippi 1923 

Louisiana  5802 

Arkansas   3933 

Oklahoma 7544 

Texas   16,209 


51,150         9.6 


SOUTH   ATLANTIC 

Delaware   807 

Maryland 7997 

District  of  Columbia  3601 

Virginia 5330 

West  Virginia 6480 

North  Carolina 2976 

South  Carolina 2853 

Georgia 5879 

Florida 3054 


38,977 


WESTERN 

Montana  3687 

Idaho    2828 

Wyoming 1234 

Colorado 8369 

New  Mexico 1978 

Arizona 2693 

Utah 3860 

Nevada 984 

Washington 13,972 

Oregon 6193 

California 36,915 

82,713 

Canada 26,282 

Foreign 3242 

Total 530,874 


15.6 

5.0 

.6 

100.0 


98 


ADVERTISING 


Statement  No.  2  —  By  Buying  Centers 


Circulation 
IN  City 


Circulation 
Within 
25  Mile 

liADItJS 


Total 
Circulation 


Albany,  N.  Y 

Atlanta,  Ga 

Baltimore,  Md 

Boston,  Mass 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 

Chicago,  111 

Cincinnati,  O 

Cleveland,  O 

Columbus,  O 

Dallas,  Texas 

Dayton,  O 

Denver,  Colo 

Detroit,  Mich 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Hartford,  Conn 

Indianapolis,  Ind 

Kansas  City,  Mo 

Los  Angeles,  Cal 

LouisviBe,  Ky 

Memphis,  Tenn 

Milwaukee,  Wis 

Minneapolis,  Minn. . . 

Nashville,  Tenn 

New  Orleans.  La 

New  York  City,  N.  Y 

Omaha,  Neb 

Philadelphia,  Pa 

Pittsburgh,  Pa 

Portland,  Ore 

Reading,  Pa 

Richmond,  Va 

'Rochester,  N.  Y 

San  Antonio,  Tex 

San  Francisco,  Cal. . . 

Scranton,  Pa 

Seattle,  Wash... 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

St.  Joseph,  Mo 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

SjTacuse,  N.  Y 

Toledo,  O 

Washington,  D.  C 

Total 


922 
1307 
5211 
7257 
3234 
20,271 
4439 
6611 
1827 
1493 
1796 
3129 
4289 
1021 
1549 
2268 
2402 
5815 
1893 
1463 
3358 
3642 

875 
2772 
31,010 
1503 
7978 
5311 
2661 

670 
1052 
2224 
1174 
7092 
1177 
5088 
2322 

538 
8472 
1433 
2066 
3521 

174,136 


1306 

182 

299 

4581 

1023 

2022 

1247 

751 

387 

259 

1436 

249 

286 

365 

3874 

293 

1195 

1737 

393 

16 

732 

2406 

99 

38 

14,099 

513 

2244 

2602 

326 

800 

50 

317 

96 

5062 

2311 

2431 

271 

185 

552 

653 

321 

331 

58,340 


2228 
1489 
5510 

11,838 
4257 

22,293 
5686 
7362 
2214 
1752 
3232 
3378 
4575 
1386 
5423 
2561 
3597 
7552 
2286 
1479 
4090 
6048 
974 
2810 

45,109 
2016 

10,222 
7913 
2987 
1470 
1102 
2541 
1270 

12,154 
3488 
7519 
2593 
723 
9024 
2086 
2387 
3852 

232,476 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  99 

Statement  No.  3  —  By  Groups  of  Cities 


Population  of  Town 

Circulation 

Peb  Cent 
of  Total 

1  to         500 

35,384 

6.6 

500  to      1000 

20,800 

3  9 

1000  to      5000 

86,282 

16.3 

5000  to    10,000 

41,943 

8.0 

10,000  to    25,000 

58,796 

11.1 

25,000  to    50,000 

50,348 

9.4 

50.000  to  100,000 

44,151 

8.3 

100,000  to  200,000 

29,901 

5.6 

200,000  and  over 

163,269 
530,874 

30.8 

Total 

100.0 

Statement  No.  4  —  By  Occupations 

Financial  Classes 

Bankers  and  brokers 4544 

Bank  officials  and  cashiers 5846 

Eeal  estate  and  insurance  brokers 12,449 

Insurance  and  trust  officials 126 

Treasurers 604 

Safe  deposit  companies 54 

23,623 
Professional  Classes 

Physicians,  surgeons,  and  oculists 18,479 

Lawyers 10,957 

Dentists 6100 

Scientists,  professors,  teachers 3710 

Students 1068 

Secretaries   2133 

Architects 1096 

Clergymen   1577 

Artists  and  sculptors 669 

Mining  Engineers 125 

Miscellaneous 3898 


49,812 
Building  and  Allied  Trades 

Including  builders,  contractors,  dealers  in  lumber,  decorators, 

dealers  in  building  materials. 48,509 

Government  Officials  and  the  Public  Service 

Federal  and  municipal  officials 4703 

Public  service 7523 

Consulates 576 


12,802 
Manufacturing  Pursuits 

Including  officials  and  owners,  foremen,  expert  mechanics,  etc.  84,650 


100  ADVEBTISING 

Retail  Dealers 

For  example:    Grocers,  16,019;  butchers,  5788;  druggists  and 

chemists,  6387 88,842 

Office  workers  of  all  classes 86,105 

Salesmen  and  buyers .' 16,486 

Hotels,  clubs,  restaurants,  reading  rooms,  and  public  institutions.  20,102 

Transportation 

Steamships  and  Pullman  cars 235 

Officials  300 

Locomotive  engineers,  despatchers,  agents,  conductors,  etc..  21,628 

22,163 

Householders,  housekeepers,  etc 62,781 

Advertisers  and  advertising  agencies 5186 

Newspapers  and  magazines 2349 

Miscellaneous 7464 

Total 530,874 


Accountants'  Report  on  Average  Weekly  Circulation 

54  William  Street,  New  York,  January  29,  1913. 

Messrs.  P.  F.  Collier  &  Son,  New  York. 

Dear  Sirs: — We  have  examined  the  circulation  records  and  financial 
books  of  your  company  and  we  certify  that  exclusive  of  copies  returned 
or  used  by  solicitors,  the  average  weekly  circulation  of  Collier's  for  the 
year  1912  was  518,904  copies. 

In  arriving  at  the  circulation  for  the  last  four  months,  the  returns 
from  the  American  News  Company  have  been  conservatively  estimated 
on  the  basis  of  past  experience. 

We  further  certify  that  no  refunds  are  due  to  advertisers  in  respect 
of  the  guarantee  of  a  minimum  circulation  of  500,000  copies  for  each 
separate  issue.  Yours  very  truly. 

Price,  Waterhouse  &  Co., 

Chartered  Accountants. 

Higher  Standards  Today.  From  a  study  of  the  publish- 
er's statements  given  on  the  preceding  pages  it  will  be  seen 
that  a  very  great  advance  has  been  made  recently  along  the 
line  of  treating  the  advertiser  with  absolute  honesty.  Adver- 
tising has  also  made  a  remarkable  advance  in  recent  years 
in  respect  to  the  cleanness  and  reliability  of  advertising 
matter  accepted  by  reputable  mediums.  Very  encouraging 
progress  has  been  made  in  the  standard  of  advertising  car- 
ried.    The  advertisements  in  high  grade  magazines  today 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  101 

are  trustworthy  and  in  many  instances  are  guaranteed  by 
the  publishers  of  the  mediums.  As  illustrative  of  the  policy 
adopted  by  a  large  number  of  magazines,  we  may  quote  the 
following  statement  of  censorship  exercised  by  the  Curtis 
Publishing  Company  with  reference  to  advertisements  which 
wull  be  accepted  for  the  Saturday  Evening  Post  and  the 
Ladies'  Home  Journal: 

The  Saturday  Evening  Post  and  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  accept 
no  advertisements: 

(1)  Of  medical  or  curative  agents  of  any  kind. 

(2)  Of  alcoholic  beverages. 

(3)  Of  subjects  immorally  suggestive. 

(4)  Of  a  nature  unduly  cheap  or  vulgar,  or  that  is  too  unpleasant 
either  in  subject  or  treatment. 

(5)  Of  a  "blind"  character  —  that  is  to  say,  advertising  which  in 
purpose  and  intent  is  obscure  or  misleading. 

(6)  Of  "free"  articles  unless  the  article  is  actually  free.  (A 
thing  is  not  free  if  the  reader  is  obliged  to  perform  some  service  or 
buy  some  other  article  in  order  to  obtain  it.) 

(7)  Of  a  financial  nature,  if  highly  speculative. 

(8)  "Knocking"  competitors. 

The  extent  to  which  publishers  of  the  best  mediums  censor 
the  advertising  copy  which  is  offered  to  them,  and  stand  back 
of  the  advertisements  which  appear  in  their  publications  is 
shown  by  the  following  quotation  from  Printer's  Ink,  April 
14,  1909,  p.  42 : 

How  large  a  part  of  the  confidence  of  the  public  in  magazine  adver- 
tising is  due  to  the  careful  advertising  policy  of  publishers  is  not  appre- 
ciated by  all  advertisers.  A  large  national  advertiser  said  the  other 
day  that  if  the  advertising  pages  of  the  publications  he  used  carried 
one-half  of  the  advertising  that  most  magazines  carried  eight  or  ten 
years  ago,  he  would  seriously  consider  withdrawing  altogether  from 
advertising  his  product.  He  could  not  afford  to  appear  anywhere  in 
juxtaposition  to  objectionable  advertising. 

(Mr.  S.  K.  Evans  says  the  following  for  the  Woman's  Home  Com- 
panion):  "I  want  our  readers  to  feel  that  the  Woman's  Home 
Companion  will  go  shopping  with  them  through  the  advertising  pages,  and 
will  guarantee  to  make  good  every  advertiser's  representations.  No 
reader  can  have  much  purchasing  security  by  any  other  method  of 
shopping,  and  I  want  to  keep  that,  faith  inviolate. 


102  ADVERTISING 

"We  have  had  several  interesting  cases  in  which  we  were  given 
an  opportunity  to  prove  our  principles.  A  woman  bought  a  bird  from 
one  of  our  advertisers  some  time  ago,  and  when  it  arrived  it  was  a 
dead  bird.  She  wrote  to  the  concern  but  it  made  no  effort  to  satisfy 
her.  Then  she  wrote  to  us.  It  was  a  small  matter  to  have  reimbursed 
the  woman,  but  we  were  after  the  principle,  and  kept  after  the  adver- 
tiser until  he  finally  made  good  to  the  woman.  She  had  done  her  part, 
doing  exactly  what  the  advertiser  asked  her  to  do,  and  had  sent  her 
money.  If  she  had  been  given  no  satisfaction,  her  entire  faith  in 
advertising  might  have  been  shattered. 

"Another  case  was  that  of  a  southern  man  who  had  bought  an 
automobile  which  would  not  auto.  It  is  possible  that  it  was  his  own 
fault,  since  he  knew  little  of  macliinery,  but  that  was  not  the  point  at 
all.  He  desired  the  prerogative  of  a  purchaser  to  get  his  money  back, 
and  when  he  came  to  us  to  help  him  get  it  we  investigated  the  matter 
and  gave  it  to  him.  If  that  man  had  been  unable  to  get  satisfaction 
from  either  ourselves  or  our  advertiser,  he  would  have  been  a  living 
signboard  to  the  end  of  his  days  against  advertising  columns." 

One  of  the  few  magazines,  if  not  the  only  one,  however,  which  has 
actually  put  an  advertiser  behind  the  bars  is  Success  Magazine.  A  Buf- 
falo man  advertised  houses,  and  many  people  sent  him  money.  He 
promised  to  deliver  them,  but  kept  sending  promises  only.  He  had  a 
splendid  suite  of  offices,  but  no  discoverable  factory.  After  making  an 
investigation  and  giving  him  until  a  certain  time  to  raise  money  to  put 
on  deposit  against  his  obligations  to  those  who  answered  his  adver- 
tisement. Success  Magazine  finally  decided  to  prosecute,  and  he  is  now 
serving  a  sentence. 

Besides  the  magazines  already  mentioned  there  is  fortun- 
ately a  growing  number  of  periodicals  which  are  exercising 
strict  censorship  over  the  advertisements  accepted.  It  would 
appear,  from  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  publishers 
who  carefully  guard  their  advertising  columns,  that  within 
a  comparatively  short  time  the  dishonest  advertiser  will  have 
great  difficulty  in  finding  any  medium  for  his  publicity 
campaigns. 

Effect  of  High  Standard  on  Value  of  Space.  Careful  dis- 
crimination in  excluding  objectionable  advertising  from  a 
medium  has  a  distinctly  telling  effect  upon  its  reputation  for 
trustworthiness  and  hence  upon  its  value.  This  is  indicated 
in  part  by  the  significant  differences  in  the  price  of  space 
which  different  mediums  are  able  to  command.     In  the  fol- 


MEDI UMS—MA  GAZINES 


103 


lowing  table  a  comparison  is  made  among  a  number  of  maga- 
zines selected  largely  by  chance  to  include  some  high  and 
some  low  grade  magazines.  To  make  a  direct  comparison 
possible,  all  rates  are  reduced  to  the  same  terms,  namely,  the 
cost  per  page  per  1000  circulation. 

The  circulation  figures  and  the  page  rates  are  for  1912  as 
given  in  Mahin's  Advertising  Data  Book. 


Name  of  Magazine 


Standard  Page  Magazines 

Atlantic  Monthly 

Century  Magazine 

Harper's  Magazine 

Scribner's  Magazine 

Cosmopolitan 

Munsey's  Magazine 

Good  Housekeeping 

American  Magazine 

McClure's  Magazine 

Everybody's  Magazine 

Popular  Magazine 

New  Story 

Top  Notch 

Ten  Story  Book 

Railroad  Man's  Magazine 


Large  Page  Monthly 
Magazines 

Harper's  Bazaar 

Woman's  Home  Companion 

Ladies'  Home  Journal 

Delineator 

Woman's  World 

Comfort 

Home  Friend 

American  Woman 

Masses 


Large  Page  Weekly 
Periodicals 

Scientific  American 

Collier  s  Weekly 

Christian  Herald 

Saturday  Evening  Post 

Associated  Sunday  Magazine 


Circulation 


30,000 
125,000 
160,000 
200,000 
444,813 
434,300 
300,000 
311,418 
463,684 
650,000 
354,220 
125,000 
200,000 

88,913 
228,007 


140,000 

762,324 

1,600,000 

930,600 

2,059,166 

1,178,710 

500,000 

619,752 

50,000 


73,464 
500,000 
304,471 

1,750,000 
1,387,869 


Page  Rate 


$100 

250 
300 
300 
600 
500 
336 
312 
460 
600 
300 
100 
150 
60 
150 

Average 


700 
2880 
6000 
3400 
6250 
2544 

980 

1134 

40 

Average. 


600 
1600 

900 
4000 
2500 

Average. 


Page  Rate 

PER     1000 
ClBCULATIOX 


$3.33 
2.00 

1.88 

1.50 

1.35 

1.15 

1.12 

1.00 

.98 

.92 

.85 

.80 

.75 

.67 

.66 

$1.26 


5.00 
3.77 
3.75 
3.65 
3.35 
2.16 
1.96 
1.83 
.80 

$2.92 


8.18 
3.20 

2.95 
2.29 
1.80 

$3.68 


104 


ADVERTISING 


The  table  indicates  that  the  Century  Magazine  obtains 
three  times  as  much  per  page  per  1000  circulation  as  the  Ten 
Story  Book  or  the  Railroad  Man's  Magazine.  Likewise  Col- 
lier's Weekly  obtains  nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  Associated 
Sunday  Magazine,  and  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  twice  as 
much  as  the  American  Woman,  and  nearly  five  times  as  much 
as  the  Masses. 

These  differences,  of  course,  are  due  not  alone  to  the  clean- 
ness of  the  advertising  carried  or  to  the  confidence  which  these 
mediums  are  able  to  command,  but,  in  part,  also  to  the  pur- 
chasing power  and  the  uniformity  or  homogeneousness  of  the 
entire  class  of  their  readers.  For  example,  the  Scientific 
American  is  able  to  obtain  a  high  rate,  not  because  it  carries 
cleaner  advertising  than  Collier's  or  the  Saturday  Evening 
Post  (there  being  no  difference  in  that  respect),  but  because 
its  readers  are,  as  a  class,  more  homogeneous.  It  is  read 
largely  by  scientific  men  and  consequently  anything  adver- 
tised in  it  for  scientific  men  will  have  little  waste  circulation. 
It  is,  more  or  less,  a  specialized  medium. 

Value  of  Space  Depends  upon  Uniformity  of  Readers. 
The  eft'ect  of  the  uniformity  of  the  readers  of  a  given 
paper  upon  the  value  of  its  advertising  space  is  shown  by  the 
following  rate-table  for  a  group  of  monthly  trade,  profes- 
sional, and  class  publications  picked  out  at  random : 


Monthly  Trade  and 
Pbofebsionai.  Magazines 


ClBCCLATION 


Paob  Rate 


Page  Rate 

PER    1000 
ClBCCLATION 


Advertising  and  Selling 

American  Thresherman 

Architectural  Review 

American  Motorist 

Motor 

Baker's  Review 

American  Banker 

Cement  Age 

Haberdasher 

American  Paint  and  Oil  Dealer 

Engineering  Review 

Hardware  Review 


12,750 
58,798 

9742 
31,750 
25,000 

7608 
12,000 
12,500 

6500 
10,000 
10,166 
10,969 


$64.00 

218.40 

50.00 

100.00 

112.50 

37.50 

57.69 

48.00 

35.00 

90.00 

50.00 

50.00 

Average . 


$5.04 
3.71 
5.15 
3.15 
4.50 
4.94 
4.80 
3.84 
5.38 
9.00 
4.90 
4.55 

$4.91 


MEDIUMS— MA  GAZINES 


105 


over  $0000 
$3000-$6000 
$1800- 
13000 


$900- 
$1800 


$600- 
$900 


Thus  we  see  that  the  trade  and  professional  mediums 
obtain  about  four  times  as  high  a  rate  as  the  general  monthly 
magazines,  circulation  being  considered.  The  average  figures 
are  $4,91  and  $1.26  respectively. 

It  is  also  noteworthy  that  many  religious  papers,  although 
as  a  class  less  discriminating  in  accepting  advertising  than 
the  better  general  magazines,  command  very  high  rates  be- 
cause of  the  con- 
fidence the  read- 
ers have  in  them. 

Purchasing 
Power  of  Maga- 
zine Readers.  A 
further  factor 
worthy  of  c  o  n  - 
sideration  is  the 
purchasing  power 
of  magazine  read- 
ers. Figure^  45, 
based  on  the  cen- 
sus of  1900,  shows 
the  relative  num- 
ber of  families  of 
varying  annual 
income,  and  the 
relative  number 
of  magazine  read- 
ers among  each 
class.  It  will  be 
seenthatthe 
number  of  magazine  readers  falls  off  rapidly  among  the  fam- 
ilies having  an  income  of  less  than  $900.  It  is  obviously 
useless  to  advertise  in  magazines  which  are  intended  to  be 
sold  to  families  of  small  incomes. 

Who  Reads  Advertisements?  The  question  is  often 
asked.  How  many  people  ever  look  at  the  advertisements  in  a 

1.  From  an  unpublished  thesis  by  C.  T.  Anderson,  in  the  library  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin. 


Paupers 


Figure  45 

This  chart  shows  the  relative  number 
of  families  with  different  annual  in- 
comes, which  have  magazines  in  their 
homes 


106  ADVEBTISING 

magazine,  and  of  those  who  do  read  advertisements,  how 
much  time  do  they  spend  with  them  ?  In  one  sense  this  ques- 
tion answers  itself,  because  the  success  and  profitableness  of 
magazine  advertising  are  the  strongest  testimony  for  the  fact 
that  the  public  almost  universally  reads  advertisements.  Pro- 
fessor Scott^  made  a  count  of  600  magazine  readers  (men) 
in  the  Chicago  Public  Library  at  different  times  of  the  day, 
on  different  days  of  the  week,  and  at  different  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  found  that  65  or  lOi/^  percent  were  reading  adver- 
tisements. Moreover,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
figures  would  be  larger  if  based  upon  reading  in  general ;  for 
the  reading  of  magazines  in  libraries  is  rather  cursory  as  com- 
pared with  the  more  extensive  reading  in  homes.  Regular 
subscribers  no  doubt  read  their  magazines  more  thoroughly 
than  the  casual  readers  in  public  libraries. 

Strong^  made  an  investigation  which  more  nearly  dupli- 
cates the  conditions  under  which  magazines  are  read.  One 
hundred  and  sixty  women  were  supplied  with  copies  of 
the  September,  1911,  Everybody's.  They  were  requested  to 
read  a  certain  article  in  that  magazine.  One  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  of  these  complied  with  the  requirements.  After 
they  had  had  the  magazine  in  their  possession  for  one  week, 
they  were  tested  as  to  what  advertisements  they  could  recog- 
nize from  a  collection  handed  them  of  advertisements  that 
were  in  the  magazine.  These  tests  were  very  carefully  made 
so  that  mere  guesses  were  eliminated.  Only  those  that  were 
actually  remembered  as  having  been  seen  in  that  particular 
magazine  were  counted.  The  results  are  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

46%  could  not  recognize  a  single  advertisement  afterwards. 

24%  could  recognize  from  1  to  10  advertisements   each. 

30%  could  recognize  from  11  to  50  advertisements  each. 

Of  the  24%,  16%  could  recognize  from  1  to  5  each, 
8%  could  recognize  from    6  to  10  each, 

Of  the  30%,  15%  could  recognize  from  11  to  20  each, 
9%  could  recognize  from  21  to  30  each, 
3%  could  recognize  from  31  to  40  each, 
3%  could  recognize  from  41  to  50  each. 

1.  Scott,  W.  D.,  Psychology  oj  Advertising,  p.  226. 

2.  Strong,  E.  K.  Quoted,  by  permission,  from  a  lecture  prepared  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Associated  Advertising  Clubs  of  America. 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  107 

Thus  it  appears  that  among  these  women  slightly  more 
than  one-half,  or  54  percent,  had  paid  some  attention  to  the 
advertisements  and  that  about  one-third,  or  30  percent,  were 
sufficiently  interested  in  them  to  read  more  than  those  that 
simply  came  to  their  notice  casually.  This  fact  is  brought  out 
by  the  next  table.  The  24  percent  are  those  readers  who 
noticed  only  the  advertisements  in  preferred  positions. 

Column  A  represents  those  advertisements  that  were 
within  ten  pages  either  of  cover  or  reading  matter;  Column 
B  represents  those  advertisements  that  were  more  than  ten 
pages  from  a  cover  or  reading  matter. 

Column  A  Column  B 

46%  of  the  women  remembered 0%  0% 

24%  of  the  women  remembered 5%  1% 

30%  of  the  women  remembered 15%  9% 

Total  of  the   137  women 6%  3% 

Positions  in  Magazines.  The  question  of  preferred  posi- 
tion in  the  advertising  pages  of  magazines  and  newspapers  is 
one  which  has  acquired  considerable  importance  in  recent 
years.    The  pages  usually  designated  as  preferred  are : 

1.  The  last  outside  cover  page. 

2.  The  first  inside  cover  page. 

3.  The  last  inside  cover  page. 

In  some  magazines,  such  as  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and 
the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  these  three  are  the  only  preferred 
positions.  All  other  pages  either  contain  reading  matter  or 
are  next  to  reading  matter  and  so  are  regarded  as  of  equal 
value.  Many  other  magazines  designate  as  preferred  the  fol- 
lowing additional  pages : 

4.  The  page  facing  the  first  page  of  reading  matter. 

5.  The  page  facing  the  last  page  of  reading  matter. 

6.  The  page  facing  the  first  inside  cover. 

7.  The  page  facing  the  last  inside  cover. 

8.  The  page  facing  the  table  of  contents. 

"While  most  of  these  so-called  preferred  positions  have  un- 
doubtedly special  value,  it  is  not  at  all  certain  just  how  much 
more  valuable  they  are  than  other  pages.  For  instance,  how 
much  more  advertising  value  does  the  last  outside  cover  page 


108  ADVEBTISINO 

have  than  a  page  somewhere  in  the  middle  of  the  advertising 
section  in  the  average  magazine  ? 

To  the  man  who  buys  a  preferred  position,  this  problem 
is  of  interest  because  he  wants  to  be  sure  that  he  does  not  pay 
too  much  for  the  additional  privilege.  And  to  the  publisher, 
the  problem  is  equally  important  because  he  wants  to  be  sure 
that  he  receives  a  sufficiently  higher  rate  for  the  greater  worth 
of  such  positions. 

Why  Certain  Positions  Are  More  Valuable.  The  value  of 
preferred  positions  consists  largely,  perhaps  entirely,  in  their 
greater  attention-value;  not  in  better  copy  or  better  illustra- 
tion or  greater  persuasive  power,  but  simply  in  the  greater 
amount  of  attention  which  they  are  able  to  command. 

This  greater  attention-value  is  due  in  the  first  place  to 
the  fact  that  an  advertisement  in  a  preferred  position  is  seen 
by  a  greater  number  of  persons.  Even  those  people  who  claim 
not  to  read  the  advertisements,  can  hardly  escape  reading 
what  is  printed,  for  example,  on  the  outside  cover  page,  or  on 
the  page  facing  the  first  page  of  reading  matter.  Second,  an 
advertisement  in  a  preferred  position,  particularly  on  the  out- 
side cover,  is  seen  not  only  by  more  people,  but  it  is  seen  more 
frequently  by  the  same  persons,  and,  third,  it  is  often  the  first 
or  the  last  advertisement  seen  when  looking  through  a  maga- 
zine. First  and  last  impressions  are  made  more  deeply  and 
more  permanently. 

The  Greater  Values  of  Preferred  Positions.  In  order  to 
determine  how  much  more  attention-value  preferred  positions 
have  than  others,  the  following  experiments  were  made. 

A  pamphlet  was  prepared  containing  six  leaves  of  ordi- 
nary magazine  size.  On  the  middle  of  each  page  was  placed 
a  syllable  composed  of  three  letters,  a  vowel  and  two  conso- 
nants. The  syllables  used  were  lod,  zan,  mep,  dut,  rad,  hon, 
vib,  lin,  fos,  dar,  hep.  One  of  the  syllables  was  inserted  twice, 
on  the  third  and  eighth  pages.  This  was  done  for  a  special 
purpose,  as  will  be  pointed  out  later. 

This  pamphlet  was  given  to  a  person  who  was  told  that  it 
contained  svllables  and  that  he  should  turn  the  leaves  of  it 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  109 

as  he  would  the  leaves  of  a  magazine  or  book  and  read  each 
syllable,  going  through  the  entire  pamphlet  only  once.  He 
was  then  asked  to  lay  it  aside.  A  sheet  of  paper  was  given 
him  on  which  he  wrote  all  the  syllables  he  remembered.  In 
this  manner  fifty  persons  were  tested. 

The  aim  was  to  find  out  how  often  the  syllables  on  the 
various  pages  would  be  remembered.  Since  no  one  could 
recall  all  the  syllables,  and  most  remembered  but  four  or  five, 
it  is  obvious  that  only  those  would  be  recalled  which  had 
made,  for  some  reason,  a  deeper  impression  than  the  rest.  It 
should  also  be  stated  that  the  persons  tested  were  told  not  to 
try  to  memorize  any  of  the  syllables,  but  simply  to  read  them 
in  a  passive  way.  In  fact,  they  did  not  know  that  they  would 
be  asked  to  recall  them. 

The  question  will  naturally  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader, 
why  would  it  not  be  just  as  well  or  even  better  to  make  the 
experiment  by  using  full-page  advertisements  in  the  form  of 
a  pamphlet,  letting  each  person  look  through  these  and  then 
report  what  he  remembered.  Such  an  investigation  was  made 
at  a  later  time,  and  the  results  are  stated  below.  There  are, 
however,  several  objections  to  this  plan  that  must  be  consid- 
ered in  a  procedure  of  this  nature.  For  by  using  advertise- 
ments it  is  difficult  to  eliminate  all  the  other  factors  which 
influence  attention  and  memory,  while  the  problem  we  wish  to 
solve  is  the  relative  importance  of  position,  pure  and  simple. 

For  instance,  some  advertisements  might  be  more  familiar 
and  better  known,  others  might  be  more  attractive  because 
of  large  type  or  beautiful  illustration  or  striking  border. 
Still  others  might  be  remembered  more  readily  because  of 
special  interest  in  the  class  of  articles  exhibited  in  the  adver- 
tisements. 

All  these  difficulties  were  avoided  in  the  use  of  syllables, 
for  they  were  all  equally  meaningless,  equally  simple,  and 
equally  large.  The  only  difference  was  that  they  were  placed 
on  different  pages,  and  this  question  of  position  was  the  very 
one  we  wished  to  investigate. 

In  order  to  guard  still  further  against  the  possibility  that 


110  ADVEETI81NG 

certain  syllables  might  have  been  remembered  for  some  rea- 
son other  than  position,  the  same  twelve  syllables  were  redis- 
tributed in  a  similar  pamphlet.  If,  for  example,  the  syllable 
lod  on  the  first  page  had  been  recalled  more  easily  than  others, 
it  was  placed  on  a  different  page  in  the  second  pamphlet. 
Each  of  these  two  pamphlets  was  used  with  about  half  of  the 
fifty  persons  tested. 

Now  if  the  outside  pages  have  greater  attention-value,  we 
should  expect  the  syllables  on  these  pages  to  be  remembered 
more  frequently.  How  much  more  attention-value  they  have, 
should  be  roughly  indicated  by  the  greater  number  of  times 
these  syllables  would  be  remembered.  The  investigation  gave 
the  following  statistics : 

Average  number  of  times  the  syllables  on  the  first  and  last 
pages  were  recalled  =  34. 

Average  number  of  times  the  syllables  on  the  second  and 
eleventh  pages  were  recalled  =  26. 

Average  number  of  times  the  syllables  on  all  the  other 
pages  were  recalled  =  17. 

Total  number  of  syllables  recalled  =  261. 

The  pure  attention-value  of  an  outside  page  would  there- 
fore seem  to  be  approximately  twice  as  great  as  that  of  an 
inside  page.  The  ratio  of  the  figures  happens  to  be  exactly 
two  to  one,  34  and  17. 

In  the  case  of  a  magazine,  the  attention-value  of  a  cover 
page  is  more  than  twice  as  much  as  that  of  an  inside  page, 
for  the  reason  that  a  magazine  lying  on  a  reading  table  or 
elsewhere  displays  constantly  one  or  the  other  of  the  cover 
pages.  However,  in  the  present  experiment  the  readers  saw 
the  pamphlet  only  once,  and  the  greater  attention-value  shown 
here  was  due  entirely  to  the  psychological  principle  that  first 
and  last  impressions  in  a  series  of  impressions  are  remembered 
better  than  any  others.  This  is  known  in  technical  terms  as 
the  law  of  primacy  (first)  and  recency  (last). 

In  the  case  of  the  magazine  you  have  not  only  the  effect 
of  this  law,  but  also  the  fact  that  the  outside  cover  page  is 
seen  oftener  and  by  a  greater  number  of  people. 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  HI 

Pages  two  and  eleven  in  the  pamphlet  used  correspond  to 
the  two  inside  cover  pages  of  a  magazine.  Their  attention- 
value  also  is  greater  than  that  of  the  other  inside  pages,  but 
of  course  not  as  great  as  that  of  the  outside  cover  page.  The 
average  number  of  syllables  remembered  for  these  two  pages 
was  twenty-six,  which  is  about  50  percent  more  than  the  aver- 
age for  the  other  inside  pages. 

We  might,  therefore,  place  the  relative  attention-values  of. 
an  inside  page,  the  second  or  third  cover  page,  and  the  last 
outside  cover  page  at  one,  one  and  one-half,  and  two,  re- 
spectively. 

If,  then,  it  is  true  that  the  outside  cover  page  is  worth 
twice  as  much  as  an  inside  page,  it  should  also  be  true  that 
two  inside  pages  are  worth  as  much  as  the  one  outside  page. 
It  was  the  object  of  the  repeated  syllable  mentioned  on  page 
108,  to  determine  whether  or  not  this  is  the  case.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  it  was  found  that  the  repeated  syllable  was  remem- 
bered forty  times,  or  just  a  little  oftener  than  the  average  for 
the  outside  pages.  More  extensive  tests,  however,  as  well  as 
the  values  placed  by  publishers  on  preferred  positions,  indi- 
cate that  the  outside  cover  is  considerably  more  than  twice 
as  valuable  as  an  inside  position  and  that  other  preferred 
positions  have  proportionate  values,  because  of  additional 
factors  which  operate  in  the  actual  use  of  periodicals. 

The  Magazine  Test.  Our  magazine  test  described  in  a 
previous  chapter  has  furnished  some  valuable  data  on  this 
question.  These  results  were  tabulated  to  show  the  number 
of  mentions  of  the  advertisements  located  on  the  various  pre- 
ferred and  non-preferred  positions.  Only  the  full-page  spaces 
were  considered  in  this  tabulation,  because  all  advertisements 
in  preferred  positions  occupied  full-page  spaces.  The  final 
data  are  set  forth  in  the  accompanying  curve  which  is  so 
drawn  that  the  value  of  the  outside  cover  is  placed  at  one 
hundred,  and  all  other  positions  have  proportionate  values  on 
the  scale  of  one  hundred.  Now,  there  are  two  very  obvious 
elements  which  interfere  with  the  validity  of  these  data :  first, 
the  great   familiarity  of  some   firms  and  commodities  and 


112  ADVEBTISING 

second,  the  greater  attention-value  of  some  advertisements 
than  of  others.  The  effect  of  the  first  has  been  eliminated 
as  far  as  possible  as  previously  explained  on  page  34.  The 
effect  of  the  second  has  been  eliminated  by  smoothening  the 
curve  according  to  the  usual  statistical  methods.  Thus  the 
article  advertised  on  the  page  facing  the  last  inside  cover  page 
was  Ivory  Soap,  and  the  number  of  mentions  was  unduly  high. 
If,  instead,  it  had  been  an  unknown  commodity,  the  number 
of  mentions  for  that  position  would  have  been  unduly  low. 
All  these  inequalities  are  distributed  as  fairly  as  possible  by 
the  smoothened  curve. 

lOQ- 

90 
80 

70 

60 

SO 
40 
303(. 

20 

10 


Baok  8eotl6n 


133   4667  8  iTsi      1334  8  7  9^4  33l 

Figure  46 

Curve   showing   the   relative   attention-value   of   preferred 
positions  in  a  standard  magazine 

The  main  facts  brought  out  by  the  curve  are  (1)  that  the 
outside  cover  is  probably  at  least  three  times  as  valuable  as  an 
inside  position,  (2)  that  all  positions  within  approximately 
eight  pages  from  the  end  of  the  advertising  section  have 
greater  value  than  other  inside  positions.  These  values  gradu- 
ally diminish  as  indicated  by  the  drop  of  the  curve.  This 
advantage  does  not  extend  as  far  into  the  advertising  section 
from  either  end  of  the  reading  section.  (Apparently  it  ex- 
tends only  over  four  pages.)  The  positions  facing  the  first 
and  last  pages  of  reading  matter  have  approximately  two- 
thirds  of  the  value  of  the  outside  cover. 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES 


113 


Rates  for  Positions.  In  view  of  the  above  conclusions 
it  is  interesting  to  compare  the  differences  in  rates  charged  by 
publishers  for  the  different  positions.  The  following  are  some 
typical  rates  as  given  for  1912 : 


* 

1 

1 

1 

Is 

1 

1 

o 
1 

Fourth  cover 

Second  cover 

Third  cover 

$1785 
828 
828 
828 
690 
690 
675 

500 

500 

500 
500 

500 
460 

$1600 
600 
600 
600 

$750 
375 
375 
375 

$3360 
1200 
1200 
1200 
1200 

$550 
400 
400 
400 
300 

$1609 
680 
680 

First  following  text . .  . 
Facing  second  cover .  . 

Frontispiece 

Facing  third  cover 

Facing  back  of  frontis- 
piece   

800 

500 

300 

First  left  facing  con- 
tents   

500 

300 

Second  left  facing  con- 
tents   

First  right  facing  index 

Second    right    facing 

index 

1 

Any  inside  page 

400 

250 

840 

230          430 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  differences  in  rates 
agree  quite  closely  with  the  differences  in  attention-value  as 
determined  by  the  tests  and  indicated  in  the  curve.  The  rate 
for  the  outside  cover  is  three  to  four  times  (for  the  magazines 
in  the  above  table  3.7  times)  as  high  as  for  an  ordinary  page. 
According  to  the  curve  the  ratio  is  one  to  three,  and  similarly 
for  the  other  positions.  No  magazine  has  an  extra  rate  for 
positions  farther  into  the  advertising  section  than  the  page 
facing  the  text  or  the  cover.  There  is  little  doubt  that  several 
adjacent  pages  have  greater  worth  than  an  ordinary  inside 
page.  Some  adjustment  of  rates  should  perhaps  be  made.  A 
noticeable  advantage  extends  over  about  eight  pages  from  the 
covers  and  over  about  four  pages  from  the  text.  The  maga- 
zines which  have  only  three  preferred  positions  must  neces- 
sarily make  a  smaller  difference  in  rates  as  shown  in  the  fol- 


114 


ADVERTISING 


lowing  table.  Periodicals  of  this  type  of  make-up  have  only 
these  three  preferred  positions,  as  all  other  positions  are  next 
to,  or  facing,  reading  matter. 


Collier's 

Saturday 
Etening  Post 

Ladies'  Home 
Journal 

Country 
Gentleman 

Fourth  cover 

Second  cover 

Third  cover 

Any  inside  page. . . 

$2200 
1800 
1800 
1600 

$7000 
5000 
5000 
4500 

$10,000 
8000 
8000 
6000 

$400 
350 
350 
300 

Values  of  Parts  of  a  Page.  Is  there  any  difference  in 
advertising  value  between  the  upper  and  lower  halves  of  a 
page?  Presumably  the  upper  half  would  be  regarded  by 
most  advertisers  as  a  better  position.  If  there  is  a  difference 
it  would  be  of  practical  interest  to  determine  how  much  more 
valuable  the  upper  half  is. 

This  problem  was  approached  by  the  method  of  syllables 
discussed  previously.  Twelve  syllables  were  placed  in  a  small 
pamphlet,  one  in  the  middle  of  each  half  page.  This  was  pre- 
sented to  fifty  persons  who  read  it  through  once  and  then 
reported  what  they  remembered. 

The  experiment  gave  the  following  result: 
Total  number  of  syllables  recalled  =  354. 
Recalled  in  the  upper  half  =  54  percent. 
Recalled  in  the  lower  half  =  46  percent. 

The  pure  attention-value  of  the  upper  half  would  there- 
fore seem  to  be  about  8  percent  greater,  A  similar  investiga- 
tion made  some  time  ago  showed  a  difference  of  10  percent 
in  favor  of  the  upper  half.  See  Judicious  Advertising,  VI, 
p.  17. 

It  is  also  of  interest  here  to  mention  the  figures  obtained 
for  the  half -page  advertisements  in  the  magazine  test.  The 
average  number  of  mentions  per  half-page  advertisement 
located  on  the  upper  half  was  12.6,  while  for  the  lower  half  it 
was  11.4,  which  is  again  10  percent  more  for  the  upper  half. 

What  is  the  comparative  worth  of  quarter  pages?     To 


MEDIUMS—MAGAZINES  115 

answer  this  qaestion,  four  syllables  were  placed  on  each  right- 
hand  page,  one  in  the  middle  of  each  quarter.  This  pamphlet 
was  likewise  submitted  to  fifty  persons,  giving  the  following 
results : 

Total  number  of  syllables  recalled  =  224. 

Percentage  of  mentions  for  each  quarter:  Upper  left 
quarter,  28  percent;  upper  right  quarter,  33  percent;  lower 
left  quarter,  16  percent ;  lower  right  quarter,  23  percent. 

Thus  the  upper  quarters,  and  particularly  the  right  quar- 
ter on  the  right  page,  appear  to  have  appreciably  greater 
values  than  the  lower  quarters,  particularly  the  lower  left 
quarter.  These  differences  are,  no  doubt,  mainly  due  to  our 
habits  of  eye-movement.  We  are  more  inclined  to  notice  the 
upper  features  of  an  object  than  the  lower.  "We  begin  to  read 
at  the  top  of  the  page.  We  notice  a  person's  face  more  than 
his  feet.  The  upper  half  of  letters  is  more  significant  than 
the  lower  half.  It  is  easier  to  recognize  a  word  when  the 
upper  part  of  the  letters  is  shown  than  when  the  lower  part  is 
shown.     See  illustration  below.  Figure  47. 

\Vmiv  I    rivictmoc   l\/lr^n^\r 


Figure  47 

There  is  thus  unquestionably  a  difference  in  the  advertis- 
ing value  of  different  positions  on  a  page,  yet  seldom  is  there 
a  difference  in  the  rate  for  different  positions  on  a  page. 

Policies  of  Firms  in  Using  Preferred  Positions.  The  pre- 
ferred positions  in  some  mediums  are  sought  after  and  con- 
tracted for  a  long  time  in  advance.  The  back  covers  in  many 
leading  magazines  are  sold  three  and  four  years  in  advance. 

The  desirability  of  preferred  positions  depends  somewhat 
upon  the  nature  of  the  commodity  and  the  season  of  the  year. 


116  ADVERTISING 

Mr.  DeWeese,  of  the  Shredded  Wheat  Company,  says : 

I  believe  that  the  back  cover  of  a  magazine  or  illustrated  weekly  is 
a  ' '  poster  proposition, ' '  and  hence  should  be  used  only  by  those  products 
that  lend  themselves  to  that  kind  of  pictorial  advertising.  Poster 
advertising  does  not  lend  itself  to  dignified  argumentative  text.  It  is 
employed  most  eflfectively  in  advertising  those  products  which  permit 
of  effective  pictorial  representation.  .  .  . 

The  inside  pages  are  far  better  adapted  to  ' '  reason  why ' '  copy.  .  .  . 

Shredded  Wheat  is  an  educational  proposition.  Hence  the  company 
uses  inside  positions  except  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  when  they 
wish  to  show  it  up  with  strawberries,  raspberries,  or  other  fruit  (June 
and  July).i 

DeWeese  ranks  preferred  positions  for  Shredded  Wheat  in 
the  following  descending  order : 

1.  Inside  cover. 

2.  Page  facing  inside  cover. 

3.  Page  facing  last  printed  page. 

4.  Page  facing  second  inside  cover. 

5.  Third  inside  cover. 

6.  Outside  cover. 

For  other  products  he  would  put  outside  cover  first,  fol- 
lowed by  the  others  in  above  order. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Make  a  thorough  survey  of  two  magazines  and  compare  them  with 
each  other  concerning  the  following  points.  (Examine  several  issues  of 
each  magazine  to  formulate  fairly  correct  estimates.) 

(a)  Determine  the  cost  rate  per  page  per  one  thousand  circulation 
and  compare  it  with  the  average  rate  for  magazines  of  that  class.  If 
it  differs  considerably  from  the  average,  find  out  what  the  probable  rea- 
sons for  this  difference  are.  (The  circulation  and  page  rates  may  be 
found  in  a  periodical  directory ,2  or  they  may  be  obtained  directly  from 
the  publishers  of  the  magazines  concerned.) 

(b)  Make  a  study  concerning  the  cleanness  and  reliability  of  the 
advertising  carried.     Make  an  enumeration  of  all  forms  of  objection - 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  July  13,  1912,  p.  46. 

2.  Such  as  the  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  by  N.  W. 
Ayer  &  Son,  Philadelphia,  or  the  Mahin  Advertising  Data  Book,  by  A.  C. 
McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago,  or  the  Pocket  Directory  oj  the  American  Press,  by 
Lord  &  Thomas,  Chicago,  and  others. 


MEDIUMS— MAGAZINES  117 

able  advertisements  that  you  find.  If  it  is  of  considerable  amount, 
determine  the  approximate  percentage  of  advertising  space  occupied 
by  objectionable  advertisements. 

(c)  Determine  as  nearly  as  you  can  the  class  of  people  to  whom 
these  magazines  go.  What  kinds  of  commodities  may  suitably  be 
advertised  in  each? 

2.  Why  are  preferred  positions  considered  more  valuable  than  or- 
dinary positions? 

3.  Do  the  same  firms  usually  occupy  preferred  positions,  or  is  there 
considerable  change?  Give  examples  of  firms.  What  would  you  infer 
from  this  with  regard  to  the  value  of  preferred  positions? 


CHAPTER  XI 

MEDIUMS  —  NEWSPAPEES 

Newspapers  Versus  Magazines.  Some  of  the  obvious  dif- 
ferences between  a  magazine  and  a  newspaper  are  that  a  mag- 
azine lasts  thirty  days;  a  newspaper  lasts  but  one  day;  a 
magazine  is  read  more  thoroughly  and  leisurely,  while  a  news- 
paper is  read  hurriedly ;  the  circulation  of  a  magazine  is  gen- 
eral, while  that  of  a  newspaper  is  local,  even  in  the  case  of 
metropolitan  dailies.  The  newspaper,  therefore,  permits  of 
intensive  local  campaigning,  as  it  will  reach  a  far  larger  pei*- 
centage  of  the  population  in  a  given  territory  than  will  a 
magazine.  For  example.  Collier's  Weekly,  with  its  large  na- 
tional circulation,  has  a  circulation  in  Chicago  of  only  20,271 
(see  statement  on  page  103),  whereas,  the  Chicago  dailies  have 
much  larger  circulations  in  that  city ;  moreover,  practically  all 
of  this  distribution  is  within  a  rather  small  radius. 

Newspaper  Circulation.  Newspapers,  on  the  whole,  have 
lagged  far  behind  the  magazines  in  clean  advertising  and 
reliable  statements  of  circulation.  As  recently  as  January, 
1910,  the  New  York  World^  stated  in  its  advertising  columns 
that  it  had  the  largest  circulation  of  all  the  dailies  in  America, 
and  gave  figures  for  the  twelve  "largest"  dailies.  On  the 
same  day  the  New  York  American  came  out  with  a  statement 
that  its  circulation  was  not  only  larger  than  that  of  any  other 
paper,  but  equal  to  the  circulation  of  the  World  and  Herald 
combined.  According  to  the  figures  of  the  World,  the  Ameri- 
can was  not  even  among  the  twelve  "largest"  papers.  The 
World  gave  its  circulation  as  1,415,097,  that  of  the  Herald  as 
1,023,617,  that  of  the  Chicago  Trihune  as  961,194,  etc.  The 
figures  given  for  1912  in  Mahin's  Advertising  Data  Book 

1.  Advertising  and  Selling,  Vol.  19,  p.  1213. 

118 


MEDIUMS— NEWSPAPERS  119 

were  approximately  400,000  for  the  World,  100,000  for 
the  Herald,  and  240,000  for  the  Tribune.  Such  inaccurate 
claims  as  these  threw  great  discredit  upon  the  newspapers. 
In  fact,  such  circulation  figures  were  not  only  meaningless, 
but  distinctly  harmful.  No  one  can  be  convinced  by  mere 
boasts  of  the  merits  of  a  paper  as  an  advertising  medium. 

However,  a  rapid  change  is  taking  place.  Newspapers  are 
now  giving  sworn  statements  of  their  circulation  and  among 
them  are  the  papers  just  referred  to.  Printer's  Ink  conducts 
a  department  in  which  thoroughly  reliable  statements  of  cir- 
culation are  given  for  a  large  number  of  dailies.  The  post- 
office  department  has  recently  begun  to  require  twice  a  year 
the  filing  of  a  certified  statement  of  circulation. 

Clean  Advertising  in  Newspapers.  It  is  also  encourag- 
ing to  notice  that  many  papers  have  definite  policies  of  reject- 
ing certain  unclean  classes  of  advertising.  The  New  York 
Times  makes  the  following  statement: 

The  New  Yorlc  Times  rejects  all  unworthy  or  doubtful  advertise- 
ments, and  welcomes  information  from  its  readers  in  aid  of  its  efforts  to 
keep  its  advertising  columns  absolutely  clean.  The  following  are  some  of 
the  classes  of  advertisements  that  are  rejected: 

1.  Fraudulent  or  doubtful  financial  offerings. 

2.  Bucket  shops. 

3.  Attacks  of  a  personal  character. 

4.  Large  guaranteed  dividends. 

5.  Offers  of  something  for  nothing. 

6.  Guaranteed  cures. 

7.  Massage. 

8.  Matrimonial  offers. 

9.  Fortune  tellers,  palmists,  etc. 

10.  Suggestive  books. 

11.  Objectionable  medical  advertising. 

12.  Offers  of  large  salaries. 

13.  Want  advertisements  which  request  money  for  samples  or  articles. 

Eeward  of  $100  offered  by  the  New  York  Times  for  information 
leading  to  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  anyone  who  may  have  obtained 
money  under  false  pretenses  through  the  medium  of  a  misleading  or 
fraudulent  advertisement  in  its  columns. 


120  •  JDVERTISINO 

The  New  York  Sun  makes  the  following  statement  in  a 
letter : 

The  iSwn  is  very  careful  in  accepting  advertising  to  appear  in  its 
columns.  We  exclude  anything  which  we  think  is  a  misrepresentation 
and  do  not  publish  bogus  mining  or  financial  advertising,  loan  sharks, 
offensive  medical  or  matrimonial  advertisements. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  states  its  position  in  a  letter : 

We  do  not  knowingly  accept  fake  or  objectionable  advertising  of 
any  kind  or  character.  We  specifically  reject  the  following  classes  of 
business : 

Medicines  containing  habit-forming  drugs. 

Medicines  containing  a  large  proportion  of  alcohol. 

Medicines  claiming  extravagant  cures. 

Announcements  of  alleged  physicians  offering  to  treat  or  to  cure 
sexual  diseases. 

Announcements  of  loan  sharks. 

Announcements  of  a  financial  nature  offering  securities  on  which 
the  return  is  either  doubtful  or  in  connection  with  which  extravagant 
promises  are  made. 

The  advertising  of  whiskey. 

The  Chicago  Record-Herald  states  in  a  letter : 

We  do  not  accept  physicians,  medical,  fake  mining  schemes,  or  other 
advertising  which  is  aimed  to  rob  the  investors.  We  make  a  specialty  of 
clean,  high  class  advertising. 

There  are  still  many  newspapers,  apparently  without  con- 
sciences, which  exercise  no  discrimination  whatever,  and 
accept  any  and  every  kind  of  advertising  that  seeks  admission 
to  their  columns.  This  is  distinctly  harmful,  not  only  to  the 
particular  paper,  but  to  advertising  in  general. 

Effect  of  Higher  Standard  on  Value  of  Space.  A  com- 
parison of  rates,  similar  to  that  in  the  table  for  magazines, 
reveals  some  very  interesting  differences.  The  exclusion  of 
objectionable  advertisements  has  an  undoubted  effect  upon  the 
reputation  for  trustworthiness  of  the  paper.  It  undoubtedly 
accounts  for  a  good  share  of  the  difference  in  the  value  of 
space.  Other  factors,  of  course,  enter,  such  as  editorial  policy, 
religious  appeal,  purchasing  power  of  the  readers,  and 
the  like. 


MED  lUMS—NE  WSPA  PERS 


121 


NEWSPAI'EH 

Circulation 

Inch  Rate 

Inch  Ratb 

PER   1000 

Circulation 

Boston  Transcript 

29,881 

50,000 

34,900 

100,000 

86,463 

184,037 

312,071 

341,680 

100,000 

90,000 

175,000 

250,000 

357,559 

750,000 

209,094 

240,560 

216,021 

343,745 

$2.10 
2.80 
1.75 
3.50 
2.10 
4.20 
4.20 
4.20 
6.30 
5.60 
5.60 
7.70 
5.60 
8.40 
5.60 
5.60 
4.20 
5.60 

$.070 

Boston  Christian  Science  Monitor. 
Boston  Advertiser 

.056 
050 

Boston  Herald 

035 

Boston  Traveler 

.024 

Boston  Globe 

.023 

Boston  A  merican 

.013 

Boston  Post 

.012 

New  York  Herald 

.063 

New  York  Sun 

.062 

New  York  Times 

.032 

New  York  A  merican 

.031 

New  York  World 

.016 

Neto  York  Journal 

.011 

Chicago  Record-Herald 

.027 

Chicago  Tribune 

.023 

Chicago  Examiner 

.019 

Chicago  American 

.016 

Av.  .032 

The  above  figures  are  quoted  from  Mahin's  Advertising 
Data  Book  for  1912. 

It  appears  from  the  table  that  among  the  Boston  papers 
the  Transcript  obtains  about  six  times  as  high  a  rate  per  inch 
per  one  thousand  circulation  as  the  Post  or  the  American. 
Among  the  New  York  papers,  the  Herald  obtains  nearly  six 
times  as  high  a  rate  as  the  Journal.  Besides  discrimination 
in  the  advertising  accepted,  a  large  factor,  no  doubt,  is  the 
purchasing  power  of  the  readers  of  a  paper.  For  example, 
in  financial  and  educational  status,  the  readers  of  the  Tran- 
script or  the  Christian  Science  Monitor  are  markedly  different 
from  the  readers  of  the  Post  or  the  American.  In  a  paper  like 
the  Monitor,  the  religious  appeal  is  an  additional  factor. 

As  has  been  said  before,  there  has  been  a  very  rapid  ad- 
vance during  the  last  two  or  three  years  toward  cleaner  ad- 
vertising. Some  of  the  papers  which  were  most  open  to 
criticism  are  now  actively  engaged  in  eliminating  all  forms 
of  objectionable  advertisements.^ 


1.  Many  papers  have  changed  their  policy  since  1912,  the  year  to  which 
the  figures  in  the  above  table  refer. 


122 


ADFEBTISINO 


Professor  Scott^  made  an  inquiry  among  2000  business  and 
professional  men  of  Chicago  to  determine  which  of  the  Chi- 
cago papers  was  most  preferred.  The  results  showed  that  * '  the 
Chicago  paper  which  was  most  often  preferred  in  proportion 
to  its  total  circulation  is  the  paper  that  secures,  in  proportion 
to  circulation,  a  larger  price  than  any  of  the  others  for  its 
advertising  space.  That  paper  which  was  the  least  often  pre- 
ferred is  the  one  which  is  compelled  to  sell  its  advertising 
space  the  cheapest,  circulation  being  considered." 

Effect  of  Quantity  of  Circulation  upon  Rates.  Papers 
with  small  circulations  charge  higher  rates  relatively  than 
papers  with  large  circulations.  This  is  probably  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  are  published  as  a  rule  in  small  cities  where 
there  is  little  or  no  competition,  and  to  the  fact  that  they 
must  depend  to  a  somewhat  greater  extent  upon  the  income 
from  advertising  for  their  financial  support.  To  indicate  how 
much  higher  the  rates  are  per  1000  circulation  for  the  smaller 
papers,  the  figures  are  given  for  a  number  of  papers  pub- 
lished in  the  Middle  West,  as  stated  in  Mahm's  Data  Book. 


Ixcii  Rate 

Newspapbb 

Circulation 

Inch  Rate 

1  i;u  1000 

1700 

Circulation 

Antigo  (Wisconsin)  Journal.  . . . 

$0.10 

.060 

Baraboo  (Wisconsin)  Bepublic. 

950 

.06 

.063- 

Berlin  (Wisconsin)  Journal 

555 

.05 

.090 

Grand  Rapids  (Wis.)  Reporter.  . 

662 

.10 

.150 

Menasha   (Wisconsin)  Record... 

800 

.25 

.310 

Neenah  (Wisconsin)  News 

950 

.12 

.126 

Portage  (Wisconsin)  Democrat.. 

700 

.10 

.143 

Stoughton  (Wisconsin)  Courier.. 

1000 

.10 

.100 

Red  Wing  (Minn.)  Republican.. 

1728 

.09 

.053 

St.  Cloud   (Minn.)  Journal 

2068 

.10 

.050 
Av.  .116 

The  average  rate  per  1000  circulation  for  these  ten  smaller 
papers  is  .116  as  compared  with  .032  for  the  eighteen  larger 
papers  mentioned  in  the.  preceding  table.  The  average  rate 
as  computed  for  about  seventy-five  newspapers,  large  and 
small,  is  approximately  .05  cents  per  column  inch  per  1000 
circulation. 

1.  Scott,  Paychology  of  Advertising,  p.  246. 


MEDIUMS— NEWSPAPEES  123 

Papers  Read  per  Person.  There  are  numerous  problems 
•  concerning  the  distribution  and  the  extent  to  which  news- 
papers are  read,  which  are  of  vital  interest  from  the  stand- 
point of  advertising.  Thus  it  would  be  valuable  to  know  how 
many  people  in  a  given  city  or  territory  read  more  than  one 
paper.  This  information  would  have  a  significant  bearing 
upon  the  number  of  papers  that  might  be  used  profitably  as 
mediums  by  a  firm.  Moreover,  the  advertiser  would  be  glad 
to  know  which  departments  of  a  paper  are  considered  most 
interesting  and  important  by  the  reading  public. 

An  inquiry  for  data  on  these  and  allied  problems  was 
made  by  Professor  Scott^  with  reference  to  the  Chicago  daily 
papers.  He  addressed  a  questionnaire  to  4000  business  and 
professional  men  of  Chicago.  Approximately  2000  of  them 
returned  answers  to  the  inquiry. 

The  first  question  was,  What  Chicago  daily  or  dailies  do 
you  read?    The  replies  showed  that: 

14  percent  read  but  one  paper, 

46  percent  read  two  papers, 

21  percent  read  three  papers,  and 

17  percent  read  four  or  more  papers. 

Hence  84  percent  read  more  than  one  paper.  The  same 
advertisement  seen  in  two  or  three  papers  may  be  more  effec- 
tive than  if  seen  in  but  one,  but  most  advertisers  are  convinced 
that  it  is  not  worth  three  times  as  much  to  have  an  advertise- 
ment seen  in  three  papers  as  it  is  to  have  it  seen  in  one.  The 
duplication  of  circulation  represents  a  loss.  If  the  advertiser 
Could  pick  out  the  papers  that  command  the  most  confidence 
of  a  relatively  large  number  of  readers,  he  could  afford  to 
neglect  the  other  papers  entirely.  However,  there  is  probably 
not  nearly  as  much  overlapping  in  the  circulation  of  different 
papers  for  other  classes  of  readers.  The  business  and  pro- 
fessional men  are  more  apt  to  read  several  papers  than  labor- 
ers or  office  clerks. 

1.  Scott,  Psychology  of  Advertising,  p.  226. 


124  ADVERTISING 

Time  Spent  in  Reading  Newspapers.  Another  question 
was,  Do  you  spend  on  an  average  as  much  as  fifteen  minutes 
daily  reading  a  Chicago  daily  ?  Professor  Scott  comments  as 
follows:  "A  decided  majority  seemed  to  consider  fifteen 
minutes  a  fair  estimate  of  the  time  spent  in  reading  the  daily 
papers.  Four  percent  answered  that  they  spent  less  than  fif- 
teen daily.  Twenty-five  percent  reported  a  greater  amount  of 
time."  This  means  that  "a  very  decided  majority  of  these 
representative  business  and  professional  men  spend  but  ap- 
proximately from  five  to  ten  minutes  reading  any  particular 
paper.  The  papers  are  glanced  through  so  hurriedly  that  an 
advertisement,  in  order  to  be  seen  at  all,  unless  sought  for, 
must  be  striking  in  appearance,  and  must  announce  something 
in  which  the  reader  is  particularly  interested.  .  .  .  The  ad- 
vertiser should  attempt  to  construct  his  advertisement  so  that 
a  single  glance  at  it  may  be  effective  in  imparting  informa- 
tion and  in  making  an  impression,  even  though  the  advertise- 
ment is  not  to  be  under  observation  for  more  than  a  few  sec- 
onds." 

Most  Interesting  Features  in  a  Newspaper.  A  third 
question  asked  by  Professor  Scott  was,  What  are  the  five 
features  of  your  paper  that  interest  you  most?  The  returns 
were  scored  so  as  to  show  the  relative  amount  of  interest  of 
the  2000  men  in  the  various  features.  This  yielded  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  interest: 

Local  news 17.8  Music 1.88 

Political  news 15.8  Book  reviews 1.84 

Financial  news 11.3  Arrangement    1.4 

Foreign  news 9.5  Society  notes 1.4 

Editorials  9  Drama 1.1 

General  news 7.2  Art 9 

Ethical  tone  (broadly  consid-  Advertisements    44 

ered)    6.7  Storiettes    13 

Sporting  news 5.8  Weather    1 

Cartoons  4.3  Humor 05 

Special  articles 4.3 

Professor  Scott  remarks  concerning  these  figures,  "These 
results  make  it  clear  that  Chicago  dailies  are  valued  as  news 
papers  and  as  little  else.  ...  As  is  indicated  in  the  tabula- 


MEDIUMS— NEWSPAPEB8  125 

tion  above,  the  news  items  possessed  over  75  percent  of  the 
total  interest. ' ' 

This  investigation  was  addressed  to  men  only.  A  similar 
investigation  among  women  would  probably  bring  different 
results,  particularly  with  regard  to  the  time  spent  in  reading, 
and  with  regard  to  the  features  considered  to  be  of  most 
interest. 

Morning  Versus  Evening  Papers.  The  relative  value  of 
morning  and  evening  papers  depends  upon  the  commodity  to 
be  advertised,  upon  the  people  to  be  reached,  and  often  upon 
the  particular  papers  themselves.  Morning  papers  are  read 
relatively  more  by  business  and  professional  men  and  very 
much  less  by  the  laboring  classes,  who  have  no  time  to  read 
papers  until  after  the  day's  work  is  over.  Professor  Scott 
found  that  the  Chicago  business  and  professional  men  read 
morning  papers  in  larger  numbers  and  preferred  them  in 
more  instances  than  evening  papers.  The  latter  are  regarded 
merely  as  subsidiary.  It  would  follow  that  if  the  advertiser 
wanted  ' '  to  reach  the  richer  classes,  he  would  use  the  morning 
papers;  if  he  wanted  to  reach  the  laboring  classes,  he  would 
employ  the  evening  papers. ' ' 

Bank  and  financial  advertising  would  probably  be  more 
effective  in  a  morning  paper;  but  a  savings  plan  advertise- 
ment, designed  to  appeal  to  the  laboring  classes,  would  very 
likely  be  more  profitable  in  an  evening  paper. 

Preferred  Positions.  The  preferred  positions  vary  con- 
siderably in  different  papers.  In  general,  however,  the  pre- 
ferred positions  are,  next  to  reading,  the  top  or  bottom  of  a 
column,  the  second,  third,  and  last  pages,  or  some  other  speci- 
fied page.  The  best  position  is  at  the  top  of  the  page  sur- 
rounded by  reading  matter,  known  as  a  "full  position." 

The  increased  value  of  these  positions  depends  almost 
entirely  upon  their  greater  attention-value,  or  the  greater 
chances  an  advertisement  has  of  being  seen.  Thus  the  top  of 
the  column  is  more  valuable  because  of  the  habit  of  beginning 
to  read  at  the  top.  Or,  a  position  following  reading  matter  is 
slightly   preferable    to    a   position    just    preceding    reading, 


126 


ADVEBTISING 


because  of  the  habit  of  glancing  toward  the  right  in  reading. 
In  some  instances  a  difference  in  rate  is  made  between  these 
two  positions. 

The  relative  values  placed  by  publishers  upon  the  various 
positions  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  table,  which 
gives  the  percentage  of  extra  cost  of  these  positions  as  com- 
pared with  the  "run  of  the  paper"  positions. 


Kew  York 
Sun 

New  York 
Times 

Chicago 
Tribune 

—    ■■ 

Chicago 
Record- 
Herald 

Wiicontin 

Stale 
Journal 

Top    of    column    sur- 
rounded by  reading . 

Top  of  column  next  to 
reading 

100   % 

75    % 
50     % 

25     % 

12H% 
12M% 
12M% 
12^% 

12K% 

100% 
25% 

62M% 
87H% 

50     % 
123^% 

37H% 

32>i% 

Bottom  of  column  sur- 
rounded by  reading . 

Following   and  along- 
side of  reading 

Next  to  reading 

Women's  pages 

2nd,  3rd,  or  last  page. 

Opposite  editorial  page 

First  and  last  page  of 
sections 

25     % 

17M% 

10% 

50     % 
50     % 

There  are  no  exact  available  data  on  the  actual  difference 
in  value  of  preferred  position  in  newspapers.  The  above  dif- 
ferences in  rates  are  based  largely  upon  general  impressions 
and  estimates.  The  relative  differences  in  rates  vary  consid- 
erably in  the  various  papers.  For  example,  "top  of  column, 
next  to  reading, ' '  ranges  from  25  percent  to  75  percent  higher 
than  an  ordinary  position. 


PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  the  essential  differences  between  magazines  and  news- 
papers as  advertising  mediums?  Compare  them  particularly  on  the 
following  points:  (a)  Commodities  or  types  of  business  that  can  be 
successfully  advertised  in  one  but  not  in  the  other.  State  the  reasons, 
(b)  Differences  in  classes  of  people  reached,  (c)  Circulation  and  terri- 
tory covered,  (d)  Should  there  be  a  difference  in  the  kind  of  copy 
used  in  eachf 


MEDIUMS— NEWSPAPEBS  127 

2.  Make  a  thorough  survey  of  two  papers  and  compare  them  with 
each  other  concerning  the  following  points.  (Examine  several  issues  of 
each  paper  to  formulate  fairly  correct  estimates.) 

(a)  Determine  the  cost  rate  per  column  inch  per  one  thousand  cir- 
culation and  compare  it  with  the  average  rate.  If  it  differs  consider- 
ably from  the  average,  find  out  what  the  probable  reasons  for  this  dif- 
ference are.  (The  circulation  and  rates  may  be  obtained  directly  from 
the  rate  cards  of  the  publishers  or  from  any  of  the  directories  mentioned 
at  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter.) 

(b)  Make  a  study  of  the  cleanness  and  reliability  of  the  advertising 
carried.  Make  an  enumeration  of  all  forms  of  objectionable  advertise- 
ments that  you  find.  If  it  is  of  considerable  amount,  determine  the 
approximate  percentage  of  advertising  space  occupied  by  objectionable 
advertisements. 

(c)  Determine  as  nearly  as  you  can  the  class  of  people  to  whom 
these  papers  go.  Are  there  any  essential  differences  between  these 
papers  in  regard  to  general  standing  in  the  estimation  of  the  public? 
Does  the  standing  of  a  paper  appreciably  affect  its  value  as  an  adver- 
tising medium? 


CHAPTER  XII 

MEDIUMS  — STREET  RAILWAY  CARDS 

The  placard,  as  an  advertising  medium,  has  assumed  gen- 
eral importance  only  in  recent  years,  and  is  still  regarded  by 
many  as  merely  a  form  of  advertising  subsidiary  to  the  mag- 
azine or  the  newspaper.  There  are,  however,  several  promi- 
nent national  advertisers  who  have  built  up  their  business 
primarily  through  the  street  railway  cards.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  of  food  products,  toilet  articles,  and  many  local 
commodities.  The  Heinz  ''57  varieties"  were  popularized 
largely  through  street  cars  and  billboards. 

Some  of  the  distinctive  features  of  street  railway  cards 
are: 

1.  So  far  as  attention-value  goes,  every  card  has  an  equal 
chance  with  every  other  card,  as  all  spaces  are  of  the  same 
size.  The  small  advertiser,  therefore,  cannot  be  overshadowed 
by  the  large  advertiser,  as  may  be  the  case  in  a  magazine  or 
newspaper.  Furthermore,  there  is  little  or  no  difference  in 
positions.  All  have  practically  an  equally  advantageous  loca- 
tion.^ The  only  exception  would  be  in  rare  instances  where 
cards  are  placed  over  the  doors. 

2.  Car  placards  have  been  very  free  from  objectionable 
advertising.  The  advertiser  in  street  cars  is  not  exposed  to 
the  danger  of  being  placed  in  juxtaposition  to  a  fraudulent  or 
deceptive  advertisement.  The  cards  are  so  constantly  before 
the  people  that  common  sentiment  has  kept  the  dishonest 
advertiser  out  of  the  street  cars. 

3.  The  seeing  of  placards  requires  a  minimum  of  effort. 
They  appeal  entirely  to  the  passive  attention  of  the  reader. 
While  this  may  have  its  drawbacks,  it  has  the  advantage  of 
reaching  people  who  may  pay  little  attention  to  advertise- 

1.  This  is  particularly  true  in  some  cities  where  the  cards  are  on  a 
slowly  moving  belt. 

128 


MEDIUMS— STBEET  RAILWAY  CARDS  129 

ments  in  the  newspaper  or  magazine.  Every  passenger  in  a 
street  car  has  the  cards  before  his  eyes.  He  becomes  familiar 
with  them  unconsciously,  as  the  following  incident  shows.  A 
woman  once  claimed  that  she  paid  no  attention  whatever  to 
the  cards  on  the  street  car  line  on  which  she  had  traveled  for 
years;  yet,  upon  being  questioned,  she  showed  familiarity 
with  practically  every  product  advertised  in  those  cars. 

4.  Railway  cards  are  practically  a  universal  medium  which 
reaches  all  classes  of  people  who  live  in  cities.  Probably  a  fair 
estimate  is  that  85  to  90  percent  of  all  adults  in  cities  ride  on 
street  cars  with  some  regularity.  Particularly  the  lower 
classes  of  people  are  reached, — classes  who  are  little  influenced 
by  newspapers  and  not  at  all  by  magazines.  The  placard, 
like  the  billboard,  reaches  the  masses. 

5.  The  street  car  cards  are  usually  the  last  advertisements 
seen  by  shoppers.  They  consequently  afford  excellent  oppor- 
tunity to  present  the  commodities  that  are  bought  on  a  shop- 
ping trip,  such  as  foods,  household  articles,  toilet  articles, 
wearing  apparel,  etc.    Placards  serve  as  the  last  reminders. 

6.  Cards  are  read  repeatedly  and  in  a  leisurely  mood. 
Professor  Scott^  has  pointed  out  that  the  things  with  which 
we  spend  much  time  unconsciously  assume  much  importance 
in  our  minds. 

The  passengers  on  street  railways  have  but  little  to  distract  their 
attention.  They  go  over  the  same  road  so  frequently  that  the  streets 
passed  through  cease  to  be  interesting.  Since  newspapers  and  magazines 
cannot  be  easily  read,  the  cards  have  but  few  rivals  for  attention.  Even 
those  who  have  but  little  interest  in  the  advertisements  find  that  they 
glance  at  the  cards  frequently  and  that  the  eyes  rest  on  a  single  card 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  .  .  .  The  goods  which  through  their 
advertisements  have  occupied  our  minds  for  long  periods  of  time  assume 
in  our  minds  an  importance  which  is  often  far  in  excess  of  anything 
which  would  have  been  anticipated  by  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  the 
peculiar  power  here  described.  In  estimating  the  relative  values  of  two 
competing  lines  of  goods,  I  assume  that  my  judgment  is  based  on  the 
goods  themselves  as  they  are  presented  to  my  reason.  I  am  not  aware 
of  the  fact  that  I  am  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  goods  that  have  occupied 
my  mind  the  longest  periods  of  time. 

1.     Scott,  Psychology  of  Advertising,  p.  224. 


130  ADVERTISING 

The  cards  in  street  ears  are  usually  changed  once  a  month 
or  once  a  week.  In  some  campaigns  they  have  been  changed 
as  often  as  twice  a  day,  in  the  morning  and  in  the  afternoon. 
This,  however,  is  rather  expensive.  The  cards  in  most  cities 
are  of  a  uniform  standard  size,  11  by  21  inches.  The  rates 
also  are  reduced  to  a  fairly  uniform  basis,  usually  40  to  50 
cents  per  card  per  month.  It  is  estimated  that  it  takes 
approximately  50,000  cards  to  supply  all  of  the  full-time  ears 
in  the  United  States  with  one  card  each.  Most  of  the  street 
car  advertising  space  is  now  under  the  control  of  the  Street 
Railway  Advertising  Company. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  the  chief  differences  between  street  car  cards  as  com- 
pared with  magazines  and  newspapers?  Compare  them  specifically  con- 
cerning the  following  points:  (a)  Commodities  or  types  of  business 
which  can  or  cannot  well  be  advertised  on  cards.  Mention  examples  of 
each  and  give  reasons  for  your  answer,  (b)  Classes  of  people  reached, 
(c)  The  kind  of  copy  to  be  used. 

2.  Make  a  similar  study  of  posters  to  show  comparison  and  differ- 
ences on  the  points  mentioned  in  the  preceding  question. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
TEADE  NAMES  AND   TRADE-MAEKS 

The  Psychological  Value  of  a  Well  Chosen  Name.  There 
are  several  reasons  for  the  value  of  trade  names.  1.  The 
use  of  a  name  is  a  simple  and  convenient  method  of  identi- 
fying a  commodity.  It  makes  purchasing  simpler,  both  for 
the  buyer  and  for  the  seller.  Thus,  for  example,  the  name 
Ivory  Soap  is  a  far  more  convenient  and  more  easily  recogniz- 
able identification  of  the  commodity  than  the  long  phrase 
Procter  &  Gamble 's  soap  would  be. 

2.  A  name  affords  protection,  for  both  the  manufacturer 
and  the  consumer,  against  substitution.  An  article  with  a 
definite  name  and  a  uniform  standard  of  production  is  the 
same  wherever  it  is  purchased.  It  insures  the  customer  against 
the  substitution  of  an  inferior  article.  In  short,  it  is  a  war- 
rant of  quality. 

3,  The  use  of  a  name,  through  its  constant  association  with 
the  article,  makes  possible  the  increasing  accumulative  effect 
of  the  reputation  of  the  article  in  the  estimation  of  the  users. 
The  mere  psychological  effect  of  repetition  acquires  a  tremen- 
dous momentum  for  the  commodity.  A  name  represents  the 
crystallized  result  of  continued  advertising,  and  of  wide  use 
and  familiarity  of  the  article.  This  subtle  effect  is  recognized 
by  the  stupendous  values  placed  upon  well-established  names 
and  trade-marks,  Mr.  Green,  president  of  the  National  Bis- 
cuit Company,  stated  in  a  public  address^  that  he  estimated 
the  trade-mark  "Uneeda" — which  has  been  flattered  by  more 
than  400  imitations  and  infringements  —  as  worth  to  his  com- 
pany more  than  $1,000,000  a  letter,  or  in  excess  of  $6,000,000 
in  all.    The  Gorham  Manufacturing  Company  declared,  in  a 

1.  Printer's  Ink.  May  2,  1912. 

131 


132 


ADVERTISING 


legal  suit  for  the  infringement  of  their  Lion  and  Anchor 
trade-mark,  that  this  mark  was  worth  between  $1,000,000  and 
$2,000,000.    An  oflScer  of  the  Coca-Cola  Company  placed  a 


Figure  48 

Trade-marks  and  trade  names  representing  millions  of  dollars 
of  business  and  advertising  assets 

valuation  of  $5,000,000  upon  the  trade-mark  of  his  firm.    In 
the  recent  plan  to  dissolve  the  American  Tobacco  Company, 


TBADE  NAMES  AND  TBADE-MABES  133 

the  trade-marks  were  valued  at  over  $45,000,000,  out  of  total 
assets  of  $227,000,000. 

According  to  a  statement  made  in  1907,^  the  trade-mark 
of  Mennen  's  Talcum  Powder  was  estimated  at  that  time  to  be 
worth  several  times  as  much  as  the  whole  business  was  a 
decade  previously.  Today  it  is  valued  at  over  $10,000,000.^ 
The  trade-mark  of  Walter  Baker  &  Co.  has  been  rated  at 
$1,000,000.  ' '  Characters, ' '  while  not  the  same  as  trade-marks, 
owe  their  value  to  the  same  psychological  causes  and  serve 
very  much  the  same  purposes.  Mr.  N.  K.  Fairbanks''  asserted 
that  $10,000,000  could  not  buy  the  Gold  Dust  Twins  and 
the  Fairy  Soap  Girl.  The  mark  of  Onyx  hosiery  has  recently 
been  rated  at  $1,500,000  by  an  officer  of  the  firm. 

"Family"  Names.  A  conspicuous  example  of  the  de- 
velopment of  a  name  for  a  family  of  products  and  of  the 
accumulated  momentum  which  the  name  adds  to  each  new 
product  as  it  is  launched  is  the  "Rubberset  Family."  After 
the  name  ' '  Rubberset ' '  had  been  decided  upon,  the  first  brush 
put  upon  the  market  was  the  shaving  brush,  which  met  with 
immediate  success,  particularly  because  safety  razors  were  so 
widely  advertised  at  that  time.  Later  there  were  added  Berset 
Shaving  Cream,  Rubberset  paint  brushes,  and  Rubberset  tooth 
brushes. 

When  recently  asked  as  to  the  extent  to  which  each  succeeding  mem- 
ber of  the  Rubberset  Family  was  benefited  by  the  advertising  given 
its  predecessors,  T.  B.  Denton,  the  advertising  manager  of  the  company, 
referred  to  the  tooth  brush  experience  as  follows:  "Each  product  has 
been  able  to  make  its  start  miles  ahead  of  where  the  one  before  it  was 
compelled  to  start  its  race  for  public  favor.  Indeed  this  cumulative 
appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  consumers  of  what  our  name  stands  for 
got  us  into  trouble  when  it  came  to  the  Rubberset  Tooth  Brush.  We 
planned  initiation  of  our  tooth  brush  months  ahead,  and  ordered  adver- 
tising in  the  March  issues.  No  labor  familiar  with  the  manufacturing 
of  tooth  brushes  being  available  in  Newark,  we  had  to  open  a  school  of 
instruction,  and  teach  our  help.     Mr.  Albright  estimated  that  if  we  had 

1.  Profitable  Advertising,  Vol.   17,   p.    181. 

2.  Printer's  Ink,  September  25,  1913,  p.  8. 

3.  Printer's  Ink,  June  30,  1910,  pp.  34-39. 


134  ADVEBTISINO 

a  million  brushes  on  hand  before  the  advertising  started,  that  would  be 
enough. 

We  made  up  the  million.  But  so  great  has  been  the  demand  for 
Rubberset  Tooth  Brushes,  as  the  result  of  what  was  practically  a  mere 
mention  of  it  in  the  advertising  pages,  that  we  are  today  2000  gross 
behind  in  our  orders  from  dealers,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  we  are  making 
twenty  to  thirty  gross  a  day,  an  amount  far  in  excess  of  what  we  expected 
to  make.  Because  of  our  inability  to  make  deliveries,  we  have  given 
ourselves  no  end  of  trouble  with  our  long-standing  dealers.  We  have 
canceled,  for  the  present,  what  Rubberset  Tooth  Brush  space  we  ha 
secured,  wherever  possible.  A  recent  back  cover  on  Collier's,  which 
could  not  be  canceled  on  such  short  notice,  and  which  had  been  originally 
intended  for  tooth  brush  advertising  alone,  was  divided  up  into  quarters, 
and  one  each  given  to  the  shaving  brushes,  paint  brushes,  dental  cream, 
and  tooth  brushes.i 

Other  well-known  names  for  groups  of  products  are  the  Keen 
Kutter,  Heinz  57  Varieties,  Colgate,  Snider,  etc. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  instances  in  which  the  pres- 
tige of  one  old-established  name  was  not  so  planned  as  to  carry 
over  to  a  new  product  of  the  same  firm.  How  much  might  not 
the  new  product,  Crisco,  have  gained  if  it  could  have  been 
given  the  momentum  of  Ivory  Soap !  Or,  again,  consider 
how  large  the  advantage  would  be  to  the  National  Biscuit 
Company  if  their  products  had  been  built  up  around  one 
"family"  name  instead  of  having  separate  and  unrelated 
names  such  as  "Uneeda,"  or  "Zu  Zu,"  or  "Nabisco." 

The  development  of  trade  names  and  trade-marks  has  been 
very  rapid  in  recent  years.  Numerous  manufacturers  have 
devised  names  and  marks  for  their  commodities.  "Family" 
names  for  large  groups  of  products  are  now  quite  common. 
The  following  is  the  experience  of  the  National  Enameling 
and  Stamping  Company  in  developing  a  trade-mark :  ^ 

To  unify  the  product  that  is  composed  of  several  thousand  articles, 
made  up  into  a  dozen  or  two  different  lines;  to  obtain  some  identifying 
mark  so  that  each  would  have  its  own  identity  and  yet  all  be  related  — 
that  was  the  problem  that  confronted  the  National  Enameling  and  Stamp- 
ing Company. 

1.  Printer'a  Ink,  June  30,  1910,  p.  3. 

g.  A.  M.  Candee,  Judicious  Advertising,  November,  1013,  p.  63, 


TRADE  NAMES  AND  TRADE-MABKS  >      135 

Labels,  names,  and  designations  galore!  Trade  for  years  familiar 
with  the  old  lines  under  the  diversified  and  numerous  names,  yet  as  a 
selling  proposition  it  was  simply  so  much  merchandise  that  happened  to 
be  sold  by  a  salesman  representing  this  company.  In  other  words, 
though  there  were  labels  and  trade-marks  and  names,  each  more  or  less 
familiar  to  the  trade  because  of  long  continued  buying,  yet  between  prod- 
uct, designation,  and  organization  there  was  no  established  relationship. 

To  acquire  a  better  understanding,  let's  look  back  a  bit  and  see  what 
we  had  to  work  with. 

Seven  immense  factories  located  at  strategic  points,  both  as  to  labor 
conditions,  raw  materials,  and  shipping  of  finished  products;  an  organi- 
zation that  covered  the  entire  country;  established  trade  with  jobbers 
and  dealers  wherever  in  the  United  States  the  merchandise  was  used,  and 
that  meant  everywhere.  A  product  that  is  in  daily  and  constant  demand 
in  every  household.  This  product  included  such  lines  and  items  as  Eoyal 
Granite  enameled  ware,  tin  ware,  including  wash  boilers,  pie  and  cake 
tins,  etc.,  japanned  ware,  milk  cans,  dairy  pails,  Nesco  Perfect  oil 
heaters,  galvanized  ash  cans,  garbage  cans,  tubs,  pails,  fly  swatters,  and 
so  on  almost  ad  infinitum. 

In  the  way  of  tools  for  use  we  had,  as  suggested  above,  variously 
shaped  and  designed  labels  under  almost  as  many  designations  as  there 
were  items.  Some  time  back  the  word  Nesco  had  been  coined  out  of  the 
initials  of  the  company,  and,  for  want  of  anything  else  to  do,  it  had  been 
put  inside  a  diamond. 

Years  ago  some  clever  artist  designed  a  sign  which  he  sold  the  com- 
pany for  advertising  purposes  —  a  window  transfer  showing  a  boy  who 
received  the  appellation  "Knight  of  the  Kitchen."  Catalogs,  of 
course  —  a  general  one  and  some  smaller  ones  of  special  lines. 

This,  then,  was  the  situation  when  I  was  delegated  to  take  up  the 
work  of  creating  some  effective  advertising  for  the  company.  Such  work 
is  largely  evolution  —  it  cannot  be  developed  in  a  moment  nor  created 
out  of  a  session  of  thinking  with  the  purpose  of  finding  a  "big  idea" 
around  which  to  operate. 

One  of  the  first  steps  was  to  register  as  trade-mark  the  word  Nesco 
and  its  use  inside  the  diamond.  This  word  we  embossed  into  many  of. 
the  pieces  manufactured.  Then  came  the  expression,  a  very  natural  one, 
"Nescoware"  —  euphonious,  easy  to  remember,  and  full  of  meaning. 
And,  because  of  our  almost  universal  distribution,  we  were  justified  in 
the  use  of  the  expression  "Nescoware  is  Everywhere,"  implying  great 
popularity  because  of  such  general  use.  As  new  articles  were  brought 
out  and  names  and  labels  were  required,  we  little  by  little  combined 
some  of  the  ideas  in  an  effective  manner. 

Classes  of  Names.  While  it  is  difficult  to  draw  a  definite 
line  between  various  kinds  of  names,  yet  there  are  certain 


136  ADVERTISING 

rather  obvious  distinctions  which  divide  names  into  a  small 
number  of  classes. 

1.  The  name  of  the  maker  or  of  the  firm  is  given  to  the 
article,  such  as  Williams'  toilet  articles,  Colgate's  products, 
IngersoU  Watches,  Baker's  Cocoa,  etc. 

2.  Geographical  names  are  used,  such  as  Hawaiian  Pine- 
apples, Boston  Garters,  Paris  Garters,  La  Crosse  Plows. 

3.  High-quality  words,  such  as  Perfection,  Ideal,  Reliable, 
Gold  Medal,  Blue  Label,  Regal,  Royal,  Peerless,  Premier,  Mon- 
arch, Diamond,  Standard,  Victor,  Gold  Dust,  Challenge,  etc. 

4.  Artificially-coined  names  without  meaning  or  descrip- 
tive implication,  such  as  Nabisco,  Kodak,  B.V.D.,  Karo, 
A. B.C.  Auto,  ''61"  Floor  Varnish,  Phoenix,  Necco  Sweets. 
Many  of  these  coined  names  were  produced  by  combining  the 
initial  letters  or  the  initial  syllables  of  the  names  of  the  firm. 
For  example,  the  name  Nabisco  is  derived  by  combining  the 
first  syllables  of  the  name  of  the  firm,  National  Biscuit  Com- 
pany ;  Necco  is  derived  by  combining  the  initial  letters  of  the 
firm  name,  the  New  England  Confectionery  Company;  Sam- 
peck  is  obtained  from  Samuel  W.  Peck  &  Co.  Many  others 
are  derived  from  foreign  words,  for  example,  Tarvia  from  the 
English  word  tar  and  the  Latin  word  via  (road). 

5.  Artificially -coined  names  with  a  descriptive  or  at  least 
suggestive  meaning,  such  as  Holeproof,  Innerplayer,  Ever- 
wear,  Cat's  Paw,  Nuskin,  Cream  of  Wheat,  Ivory,  Auto 
Strop,  Shur-on,  Kantleek,  Uneeda  Biscuit,  Milady  Chocolates, 
Underfeed  Furnace,  Pianola,  and  Simplex. 

These  five  classes  include  practically  all  the  varieties  of 
names  in  use  at  the  present  time. 

What  Constitutes  a  Good  Name?  Several  elements  are 
essential  in  the  selection  or  coinage  of  a  new  name.  1.  A 
trade  name,  above  all  things,  should  be  simple  and  short. 
It  takes  a  long  time  to  speak  and  much  space  to  print  a  long, 
ponderous  name.  The  psychological  effect  is  stupefying  and 
confusing.  When  advertising  space  is  expensive,  the  cost  of 
printing  long  names  is  an  item  worth  considering.  Compare, 
for  example,  Kelly-Springfield  Pneumatic  Tires  with  Con- 


TRADE  NAMES  AND  TBADE-MABKS  137 

tinental  Tires,  Barret  Specification  Roofs  with  Rubberoid, 
Mennen's  Borated  Talcum  Powder  with  Mennen's  Talc,  Bar- 
rington  Hall  Bakerized  Steel-Cut  Coffee  with  Whitehouse,  or 
George  Washington  Prepared  Coffee  with  Instant  Coffee. 

2.  A  name  should  be  easy  to  pronounce  and  easy  to  remem- 
ber. The  average  reader  will  have  considerable  hesitancy  in 
trying  to  pronounce  such  names  as  Caementium,  Sanatogen, 
Olivilo,  Aa-Al,  Cuticura,  Telekathoras,  Mentholatim,  Koh-I- 
Noor,  Sieger's  Angostura  Bitters.  Compare  with  these  such 
simple,  terse,  and  easy  names  as  Victor,  Kodak,  Presto,  Mum, 
Ivory,  Jello,  Cremo. 

The  experience  of  a  manufacturer  of  a  substitute  for  coffee 
is  an  illustration  in  point : 

Knowing  he  had  a  good  proposition,  the  food  expert  prepared  to 
promulgate  the  news  upon  the  American  public  by  advertising. 

He  decided  upon  the  name  "Koflfee-No. "  The  "No"  was  under- 
lined. 

He  then  set  about  to  capture  a  share  of  the  coffee  business  in  several 
middle-western  cities.  With  good  illustrations  and  concise,  salesman- 
like  phraseology,  copy  was  prepared,  featuring  in  big  heavy  type  the 
"Koffee-No." 

Retailers  were  stocked  fairly  well  and  the  jobber's  efforts  were 
enlisted. 

Then  good-sized  advertisements,  inaugurating  the  campaign,  ap- 
peared in  newspapers  of  the  several  cities. 

The  advertiser  sat  back  and  waited  for  returns.     Nothing  stirred. 

The  campaign  apparently  was  not  sending  housewives  to  their 
grocers  for  the  product.  The  advertiser  was  amazed.  He  had  con- 
cluded that  the  proposition  was  one  the  public  could  not  fail  to  recognize 
as  good.  The  advertising  was  good  and  there  was  no  flaw  in  the  plan 
of  distribution.  But  he  had  to  quit  advertising.  He  called  the  campaign 
a  failure,  yet  he  had  no  constructive  reason  why  it  failed. 

An  advertising  man  in  the  writer's  acquaintance  determined  to  look 
into  the  proposition  for  his  personal  satisfaction.  He  had  anticipated  a 
hidden   defect  in  the  product. 

He  visited  a  retail  store  near  his  home  and  asked  for  "Koffee-No. " 

The  clerk  asked  him  to  repeat  the  name.  He  repeated  it  and  then 
was  compelled  to  give  a  description  of  the  product. 

"Oh,  you  mean  'Coffeeno,'  don't  you,"  interrogated  the  clerk, 
pronouncing  the  name  with  the  accent  on  the  second  syllable,  giving  it 
an  entirely  different  pronunciation  from  the  one  its  maker  intended. 


138  ADVERTISING 

He  secured  the  cereal  cofiFee  and  at  home  asked  his  wife  to  prepare 
some  of  it  for  dinner,  which  she  did. 

'  *  Koflfee-No ' '  pleased  the  advertising  man  and  his  wife.  They  both 
agreed  it  was  good  and  determined  it  was  worth  using  continually  in 
place   of   coffee. 

"By  the  way,  what  do  you  call  it?"  queried  the  advertising  man 
of  his  wife  that  evening,  believing  the  experience  with  the  retailer  might 
shed  some  light  on  the  selling  diflSculties. 

' '  Why,  let 's  see, ' '  she  replied,  ' '  Why,  I  've  forgotten.  Just  a  min- 
ute, I'll  get  the  package  and  see." 

' '  Never  mind,  it 's  too  diflScult  to  remember.     I  can  see  that ! ' ' 

Had  the  name  of  this  cereal  coffee  been  flashed  from  a  newspaper 
page  at  his  housewife  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  her  to  recall  it 
at  her  grocers.  That  sale  would  have  been  killed  by  the  intricacy  of  the 
product's  name. 

Which  explains  the  Waterloo  of  this  good  product. 

The  advertising  manager  for  a  well-known  manufacturer  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  president  of  the  house.  The  institution,  which 
manufactured  household  articles,  commenced  manufacturing  a  new 
specialty. 

The  advertising  manager  was  asked  to  invent  a  new  name.  He  was 
fond  of  calling  the  president  by  the  initials  of  his  name.  So,  after  due 
consideration,  he  determined  upon  "J.  B."  as  the  cognomen  for  the 
specialty  —  these  being  the  first  two  initials  of  the  president 's  name. 

Later  this  advertising  manager  left  his  position  for  one  in  a  larger 
field.  The  new  advertising  manager  found  "J.  B. "  to  be  the  poorest 
seller  the  manufacturer  had,  and  also  satisfied  himself  that  it  was  fully 
up  to  the  concern's  standard  of  merit. 

When  he  had  been  with  the  house  a  week  the  letters  "J.  B. "  went 
into  the  discard  and  the  new  man  bluntly  told  the  president  the  reason. 
He  made  plain  the  fact  that  he  was  drawing  his  salary  for  selling  goods, 
not  for  nursing  vanities. 

He  gave  the  article  a  short,  terse,  descriptive,  easy-understandable, 
easily-remembered  name. 

The  trade  was  notified.  The  articles  that  had  grown  dusty  on 
dealers'  shelves  were  shipped  back  to  the  factory  and  restamped. 

Salesmen  were  instructed  never  to  refer  to  *  *  J.  B. "  —  to  absolutely 
wipe  the  name  from  their  memories.  The  original  selling  energies  that 
had  marked  the  birth  of  "J.  B."  were  applied  to  the  newly -named 
article. 

In  three  months  and  a  half  the  article  became  the  second  best  seller 
the  house  had.  Sales  for  that  quarter-year  leaped  to  quadruple  the  num- 
ber that  dealers  had  made  in  the  previous  three  months. 

Among  five-cent  cigars  one  of  the  best  sellers  in  this  country  is  the 


TBADE  NAMES  AND  TBADE-MABKS  139 

Club  Smoker,  manufactured  by  a  Chicago  concern.  One  of  the  main 
factors  in  its  success  has  been  its  easily-remembered  name. 

And  the  name  should  be  a  far  more  vital  point  with  a  cigar  manu- 
facturer than  with  other  articles  to  which  the  consumer  devotes  more  time 
in  considering  the  purchase. 

Yet  cigar  manufacturers  are  probably  the  worst  offenders  in  tlie 
matter  of  names.  One  authority  charges  many  ineffectual  efforts  of 
cigarmakers  to  advertise  their  products  to  the  invariable  tendency  to 
christen  every  star  cigar  with  a  Spanish  name,  or  worse,  a  mixture  of 
Spanish  and  American. 

We  are  not  Spanish  people.  And  naturally  it  is  hard  for  us  to 
grasp  and  mentally  to  hold  a  Spanish  name.    So  few  of  us  do  it, 

A  cigar  store  clerk  told  the  writer  that  fully  fifty  percent  of  the 
sales  in  his  store  are  made  to  men  who  either  ask  for  a  "good  Havana 
cigar ' '  or,  pointing  to  one  in  the  case,  ask  for  ' '  one  of  those. ' '  i 

A  certain  large  system  of  drug  stores  issues  bulletins  from 
time  to  time  to  its  clerks  stating  how  the  public  pronounces 
various  names  for  drugs,  so  that  the  clerks  may  be  prepared 
to  recognize  the  things  called  for.  Thus  they  found  that 
*  *  Todco  Cream ' '  was  called  for  as  '  *  Tuxedo, ' '  and  ' '  Cuticura 
Soap"  was  asked  for  as  "Keeley  Cure  Soap." 

3.  A  name  should  be  unique  and  distinctive,  so  that  it 
may  not  be  easily  imitated  or  infringed  upon.  Blue  Label 
Ketchup  might  be  mimicked  by  the  name  ' '  Brown  Label, ' '  or 
some  other  colored  label.  Almost  every  well-known  successful 
name  has  been  imitated.    Note  the  following  illustrations: 

Uneeda Iwanta 

Limetta Limette 

Egyptian  Deities Egyptian  Prettiest  or  Daintiest 

Peruna  Rupena 

Pain  Killer Pain  Erpeller 

Cascarets Castorets 

Apollinaris Appolinis 

Honeymoon   Honeycomb 

Moxie  Noxie,  Hoxie,  Modox,  Noxemall,  Moxine 

Sorosis Sartoris 

Producers  of  new  commodities  intended  to  compete  with 
older  commodities  of  the  same  class  often  attempt  to  adopt 
names  as  nearly  like  the  older  names  as  possible  without 

1.  Quoted  by  permission  from  Judicious  Advertising,  July,  1911,  p.  63. 


140  ADVERTISING 

having  them  identical.  The  newcomer  thereby  attempts  to 
rob  the  old  concern  of  some  of  its  established  prestige.  It  is 
therefore  extremely  important  to  adopt  a  name  at  the  outset 
which  will  be  difficult  to  copy  and  which  may  be  legally  pro- 
tected. Apropos  of  this  point  we  may  quote  from  Real 
Salesmanship  in  Print  (Lord  &  Thomas;  page  17)  : 

Another  thing  to  look  out  for  is  the  danger  of  substitution.  There 
are  a  great  many  lines  where  substitution  by  dealers  kills  from  one-half 
to  two-thirds  of  the  trade.  Eare  is  the  article  which  attains  big  success 
against  such  a  handicap. 

Substitution  cannot  always  be  entirely  eliminated,  but  there  are  ways 
to  minimize  it.  And  it  must  be  reduced  to  modest  proportions  before 
an  advertising  campaign  can  be  advocated. 

This  is  one  of  our  gravest  problems.  And  it  must  be  solved  in 
the  original  plans  if  one  is  to  solve  it  at  all.  It  is  folly  to  raise  crops 
for  others  to  garner. 

Foresight  in  this  matter  is  an  essential.  Without  it,  the  most  bril- 
liant campaign  might  result  in  disaster.  In  many  other  cases  results 
have  been  multiplied  by  simply  taking  proper  precautions. 

Toasted  Corn  Flakes  has  succeeded  despite  substitution.  But  the 
Kellogg  concern  is  not  getting  more  than  forty  percent  of  the  trade 
it  created.  And  fortunes  are  spent  on  advertisements  aimed  merely  to 
defend  that  percentage. 

Suppose  the  same  trade,  at  the  same  expense,  had  been  built  around 
a  name  like  Post  Toasties.  How  much  more  would  the  trade  have  been 
worth  ? 

Suppose  the  Kodak  had  been  called  Eastman's  Camera.  Suppose 
Uneeda  Biscuit  had  been  named  National  Soda  Crackers.  Consider  how 
impregnable  are  their  positions  today  compared  with  what  they  might 
have  been  had  they  overlooked  the  trade-mark  foundation. 

.  .  .  "We  can  cite  numerous  instances  where  a  change  in  name  has 
multiplied  the  results  of  the  advertising.  We  know  cases  where  the  name 
has  done  more  for  the  article  than  all  other  selling  arguments. 

One  of  our  greatest  successes  of  the  past  six  months  is  due,  appar- 
ently, mainly  to  a  name  we  coined.  An  enormous  business,  long  estab- 
lished, was  doubled  in  four  months.  And  the  main  element  we  added, 
in  our  estimation,  was  a  name  which  brought  to  one  maker  the  trade 
which  had  hitherto  been  divided 

(Page  62.)  One  of  our  clients  makes  an  evaporated  milk.  This 
milk,  in  the  process  of  sterilization,  is  given  a  slight  scalded  flavor. 

At  one  time  we  found  that  this  unnatural  flavor  killed  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  trade  we  created.     Users  failed  to  buy  again. 


TBADE  NAMES  AND  TEADEMABKS  141 

This  problem,  as  usual,  came  up  to  our  strategists.  The  natural 
solution  would  be  to  explain  the  flavor.  But  any  explanation  which  we 
could  devise  sounded  too  much  like  apology. 

Then  one  man  suggested,  "Let  us  call  it  the  Almond  Flavor.  Let 
us  make  it  a  virtue  —  an  indication  of  purity  —  of  freedom  from  germa. 
Let  us  tell  the  buyers  to  seek  for  this  Almond  Flavor  —  that  the  milk 
is  not  genuine  without  it." 

And  we  did.  We  changed  the  objection  into  an  advantage.  This 
advertiser  now  is  selling  close  to  fifty  million  cans  per  year. 

4.  A  name  should  not  he  absurd  or  degrading  for  the 
article'  to  which  it  is  applied.  On  the  other  hand,  a  name 
should  rather  be  suggestive  of  value  and  worth.  The  name 
**It"  as  applied  to  a  breakfast  food  is  not  the  kind  of  name 
which  would  elevate  one's  conception  of  the  food.  Or  the 
name  "Smile"  as  applied  to  a  high-grade  $20  hat  has  a  dis- 
tinctly depreciating  effect.  There  is  nothing  about  the  name 
that  would  induce  a  person  to  buy  the  hat.  It  is  one  of  the 
useful  functions  of  a  well-chosen  name  to  add  to  the  desir- 
ability of  the  commodity.  The  name  and  picture  for  "Old 
Dutch  Cleanser"  carry  an  atmosphere  of  cleanliness  and 
human  interest.  The  same  is  true  of  "Quaker  Oats"  as  con- 
trasted with  "oatmeal,"  or  "Ivory  Soap"  as  compared  with 
simply  a  bar  of  soap.  "Old  Dutch  Cleanser"  is  a  better  name 
than  "Bon  Ami."  It  suggests  something  about  the  use  and 
cleanliness  of  the  article.  It  also  is  easier  to  pronounce  and 
easier  to  remember. 

Notice  some  of  the  absurd  names  that  have  been  used:^ 

Asperox,  Alamo-Bromo,  Alkolol,  Bo-alka,  Bovax,  Americanitis-Flizer, 
Babeskin,  Coeterine,  Enuriene,  Germea,  Cow-Oil-Ene,  Hekake,  Kalone, 
Kilfyre,  Kremette,  Kremola,  Kis-me  (gum),  I  O  U  (champagne),  Nix-E, 
Thym-a-Tol,  Oxyma,  Oxyneura,  Oxeta,  Tarterlithene,  Kodal,  E  Z  2  Tie 
(neckwear),  Har-in-felt  (mattress),  Carbolineum,  On-Time  (yeast), 
Stainoflf,  Payo,  Powdo,  So-Lite  (shoes),  Keep-shape. 

Mapeine  (whiskey),  Sal-lac,  Wonderful  Dream  (salve),  SilkUo, 
Acisilk,  Kadiumite  (razor),  Flexo  (garter),  E  Z  (stove  polish),  Eex 
Elintcote,  Ho-Co  (thermos  bottle),  Hot-a-Co  (thermos  bottle),  Nosmellee, 
Pantasote,  Nufangel. 

Names   of    foods:      Cere-Fruto,    Malta-Vita,   X-Cello,   Malto   Food 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  January  20,  1909,  p.  40. 


142  ADVEBTISING 

Flakes,  Grandose  Flakes,  Flaketa,  Norka,  Eata-Biscuit,  Cereola,  Dr. 
Price's  Eatabita,  Perfo,  Graino,  Koflfa,  Carmel-Cereal,  Neutrita,  Grap- 
Suga,  Flakes,  Granola,  Maz-all,  Coffayette,  It,  Malta  Nut,  Tarvena, 
Nulife. 

5.  It  is  an  advantage  to  a  name  to  be  suggestive,  if  not 
descriptive,  of  the  nature  of  the  article  or  of  some  essential 
feature  of  it.  The  name  "Holeproof"  is  excellent  in  suggest- 
ing the  innovation  in  the  hosiery  business  of  guaranteeing 
hosiery  for  a  certain  length  of  time.  Other  illustrations  are 
"Rubberset,"  "Shinola,"  ''Tarvia,"  "Auto  Strop,"  ".Poros- 
knit,"  etc.  However,  one  difficulty  with  names  which  are 
strongly  descriptive  is  that  they  cannot  be  registered.  But  it 
is  possible  to  have  a  prominent  suggestive  element  and  still 
comply  with  the  registration  laws. 

What  Sort  of  Names  Can  Be  Registered?  Mr.  W.  A. 
Knight,  legal  specialist  on  trade-marks,  answers  this  question 
thus:^ 

Generally  speaking,  a  trade-mark  to  be  valid  must  not  be  the  name 
of  a  person,  name  of  a  place,  descriptive  of  the  goods  or  of  the  quality 
of  the  goods,  or  old  in  the  class  into  which  the  goods  fall  on  which  the 
mark  is  to  be  used,  according  to  the  arbitrary  classification  of  the 
patent  office. 

Personal  and  Geographical  names  have  the  objection  that 
any  other  person  by  the  same  name  living  in  the  same  locality 
might  enter  upon  the  production  of  a  line  of  goods  competing 
with  one  already  well  known.  He  would  have  the  right  to 
use  his  own  name  or  the  name  of  his  locality  in  designating 
the  goods. 

Names  consisting  of  words  purely  descriptive  of  the  article 
are  objected  to  because  any  one  else  who  may  have  the  right 
to  sell  that  kind  of  article  would  also  have  the  right  to  describe 
it  in  the  same  way.  This  rule  is  strictly  adhered  to  by  the 
courts. 

For  instance,  it  would  hardly  seem  that  the  person  who  adopted 
this  jaw-breaking  title,  "Ammoniated  Bone  Superphosphate  of  Lime," 

1.  Judicious  Advertising,  December,  1911,  p.  71. 


TRADE  NAMES  AND  TBADE-MABKS  X4S 

for  a  fertilizer  would  either  rob  his  neighbors  of  a  phrase  they  might 
wish  to  use,  or  sell  enough  of  the  stuff  to  litigate  about.  But  it  is  a 
fact  that  such  a  trade-mark  was  held  invalid  because  it  presumably 
only  described  the  fertilizer.  Even  the  refined  word  "Desiccated," 
when  applied  to  the  sacred  New  England  codfish,  will  not  do  alone  as 
a  trade-mark,  since  a  good  dictionary  shows  it  to  be  descriptive  of  a 
process  which  anyone  else  may  adopt. 

The  courts  go  so  far  as  to  hold  that  words  borrowed  from  foreign 
languages  will  not  do  as  trade-marks  as,  when  translated,  they  merely 
describe  the  article.  One  would  certainly  think  that  the  original  intro- 
ducer of  "Parchesi"  had  hit  upon  a  capital  trade-mark,  but  since 
the  word  is  Hindustanese  for  a  game  in  India,  and  since  others  have 
the  right  to  make  and  sell  the  game  under  its  real  name,  this  trade- 
mark has  been  held  invalid. 

Some  of  these  cases  are  very  close  and  depend  largely  upon  the 
' '  personal  equation ' '  seated  upon  the  bench.  Dr.  Dadrian,  the  originator 
of  "Matzoon, "  which  is  the  Armenian  name  for  buttermilk  fermented 
by  a  special  process,  lost  his  ease  against  an  imitator  in  the  Federal 
courts  in  New  York  City  on  the  ground  that  the  word,  translated,  was 
merely  descriptive,  while  in  the  New  York  courts,  sitting  on  the  other 
side  of  City  Hall  Park  from  the  Federal  court,  it  was  held  that 
"Matzoon"  was  a  perfectly  valid  trade-mark.i 

Most  of  the  names  rejected  by  the  registration  office  come 
under  the  class  of  descriptive  names.  Some  very  close 
distinctions  are  made;  thus  "Rubberoid,"  " Nexttobeer, " 
"Kantleek,"  etc.,  have  been  refused  registration  on  the  ground 
of  their  descriptive  character.^  More  recently  *  *  Crystal  Dom- 
ino" as  a  name  for  sugar  was  refused  registration  because 
crystal  is  descriptive  of  sugar.  For  similar  reasons  "Turk- 
nit"  (towel),  "Master  Craft"  (for  suits  and  overcoats),  and 
"Bras-Brite"  (for  polish)  were  rejected.  "Crisco"  could 
not  be  registered  because  the  name  "Crispett"  was  already 
on  the  register.^  Likewise,  "Onyx"  as  a  name  for  under- 
wear was  refused  registration  because  the  name  was  already 
widely  known  as  a  name  for  hosiery.* 

Many  names  have  been  registered  which  would  now  be 
refused  registration.    The  trade-mark  law  passed  in  1905  pro- 

1.  System,  May,  1911,  p.  489. 

2.  Printer's  Ink,  May  2,  1912. 

3.  Printer's  Ink,  February  20,  1913,  p.  80. 

4.  Printer's  Ink,  November  27,  1913,  p.  56. 


144  ADVEBTISING 

vided  for  the  registration  without  question  of  any  trade-mark 
which  for  ten  years  or  more  prior  to  1905  had  been  in  exclu- 
sive use  by  the  applicant  or  his  predecessors.^  Personal  and 
geographical  names  such  as  "1847  Rogers  Bros.,"  "Boston 
Garters,"  "Elgin"  or  "Walthara"  or  "IngersoU"  watches 
could  not  be  registered  today.  Names  or  portraits  of  celebri- 
ties who  are  dead  may  be  registered.  The  name  of  a  living 
celebrity  may  be  registered  if  he  gives  permission  for  the  use 
of  his  name.  Statements  added  to  trade-marks  must  be  truth- 
ful to  be  registrable.  "Made  in  Germany"  or  "Bottled  in 
England"  cannot  be  registered  unless  the  goods  were  actually 
made  in  Germany  or  bottled  in  England.^ 

Summarizing,  we  may  say  that  the  best  name  is  a  short, 
fanciful  name  suggestive  of  the  article  as  much  as  possible. 
Thus,  nearly  ideal  names  are  "Uneeda,"  "Nabisco,"  "Gold 
Dust,"  "Regal,"  "Premier."  Personal  and  geographical 
names  are  conservative  and  dignified,  but  they  may  be  used 
by  others.  High  quality  names  suggest  worth  and  desirability 
of  the  goods,  but  they  sometimes  sound  boastful  and  egotist- 
ical, and  the  same  name  is  often  used  by  many  firms  for  many 
different  commodities.  Thus  words  like  perfection,  standard, 
premier,  peerless,  etc.,  are  used  for  a  large  variety  of  articles. 
There  is  a  Peerless  Automobile,  a  Peerless  Cream  Separator, 
a  Peerless  Bicycle,  and  a  Peerless  Beverage. 

Fanciful,  or  artificially  coined  names,  if  suggestive,  are  on 
the  whole  the  best,  but  they  have  the  weakness  usually  of 
being  more  difficult  to  remember  and  to  popularize.  The  word 
"Uneeda"  required  much  time  and  money  to  hammer  into 
the  public  mind.  "W.  H.  Childs,^  of  the  Bon  Ami  Company, 
now  states  that  he  would  be  willing  to  give  many  thousands 
of  dollars  if  only  the  name  'Bon  Ami'  could  be  changed  to 
any  one  of  a  number  of  other  names  which  his  experience  has 
shown  him  would  be  far  better  without  losing  the  time,  money, 
and  effort  which  have  been  put  into  past  advertising.  *Bon 
Ami'  is  objectionable,  for  one  thing,  because  the  'masses'  do 

1.  PrMer'8  Ink,  July  18,  1012,  p.  112. 

2.  System,  Maj-.   1911,  p.  489. 

3.  Printer'8  Ink,  July  28,  1910. 


TBADE  NAMES  AND  TBADE-MABKS  145 

not  know  enough  French,  as  a  rule,  to  appreciate  its  meaning, 
and  hence  its  appropriateness. ' ' 

Is  Your  Trade-Mark  Really  Yours?^  One  point  concern- 
ing trade  names  and  marks  that  is  often  overlooked  is  the 
possibility  of  registration.  Names  that  have  been  popularized 
at  considerable  cost  are  discovered,  in  many  instances,  to  be 
infringing  on  some  older  names.  A  good  illustration  in  point 
is  the  following  experience  of  a  candy  maker: 

There  are  a  number  of  manufacturers  in  this  country  who  are  using 
trade-marks  that  in  fact  do  not  belong  to  them.  Sooner  or  later,  just 
about  the  time  they  realize  that  their  marks  are  worth  more  than  the 
very  plants  in  which  the  marked  products  are  produced,  they  will  be  com- 
pelled to  abandon  their  marks  in  favor  of  the  rightful  prior  users.  .  .  . 

A  Mr.  Candy  Man  some  .twenty-odd  years  ago  in  a  large  university 
town  began  to  manufacture  chocolate  creams  which  he  designated  by  a 
certain  mark  which  he  thought  was  original.  All  at  once  this  candy  man 
woke  up  to  the  fact  that  his  special  brand  of  creams  had  become  very 
pdpular  not  only  in  his  own  vicinity  but  all  over  the  United  States.  You 
see,  the  chocolate  creams  were  good,  and  some  of  the  thousands  of 
students,  after  leaving  their  university  —  which  was  located  in  Mr. 
Candy  Man's  town  —  in  addition  to  sending  back  for  express  orders  of 
creams,  holiday  times  and  on  other  special  occasions,  told  their  dealers 
about  these  fine  creams,  and  custom  grew  rapidly. 

Well,  one  of  the  old  university  boys  who  happened  to  be  a  trade- 
mark lawyer,  upon  a  visit  to  his  Alma  Mater,  dropped  in  to  say  hello 
to  his  old  friend,  the  candy  man^  who  was  getting  richer  every  year  and 
prouder  of  his  good  creams.  The  latter,  like  any  man  who  has  a  success- 
ful trade-mark,  lost  no  time  in  telling  the  lawyer  about  the  success  of 
the  creams. 

The  lawyer,  being  with  an  old  personal  friend  and  thinking  of  the 
mark  from  a  trade-mark  lawyer's  standpoint,  emphatically  suggested 
that  such  a  valuable  mark  be  registered  and  that  he  would  be  glad  to 
take  care  of  the  matter  for  a  certain  fee.  Mr.  Candy  Man  enthused  and 
told  the  lawyer  to  go  ahead,  not  to  make  a  preliminary  search,  because 
Mr.  Candy  Man  was  so  sure  that  he  was  the  original  user  of  the  mark, 
but  to  make  application  for  registration  right  away. 

In  brief,  the  application  went  to  the  Patent  Office  and  in  due  time  the 
examiner  came  back  with  a  cold  refusal  to  register  the  mark,  rightfully 
basing  his  refusal  on  the  grounds  that  the  same  identical  mark  had  been 
registered  by  a  large  eastern  candy  manufacturer  some  twenty-five  years 
back  —  just  five  years  before  Mr.  Candy  Man  in  good  faith  appropriated 

1.  A.   B.   Remick,   Judicious  Advertising,  December,   1913,   p.   55. 


146  ADVEBTISING 

the  mark.  The  result  was  that  Mr.  Candy  Man  not  only  made  himself 
liable  in  what  might  have  been  a  serious  infringement  suit  but  had  to  give 
up  that  pet  mark  in  favor  of  the  prior  user. 

Now  Mr.  Candy  Man  has  the  tedious  and  costly  task  of  building  up 
a  reputation  of  an  entirely  new  mark.  This  time  I  am  quite  sure  that 
he  will  take  his  trademark  lawyer  into  consultation  and  select  a  mark 
that  will  be  his  property  forever. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS' 

1.  What  points  must  be  considered  in  selecting  the  name  for  a  new 
article?     Make  a  comprehensive  analysis. 

2.  Compare  the  merits  of  "Walk-Over"  and  "Red  Star"  as  names 
for  shoes;  "Bon  Ami"  and  "Sapolio"  as  names  for  cleansers;  "Carna- 
tion" and  "Clover-Leaf"  as  names  for  milk.  Which  do  you  consider 
the  better?     Why? 

3.  Why  are  geographical  or  personal  names  refused  registration? 

4.  Is  the  prestige  of  a  well-selected  name  equally  important  for  all 
lines  of  commodities? 

5.  Suggest  a  name  for  a  hat  which  you  would  consider  good  and 
which  could  probably  be  registered. 

6.  Criticize  and  suggest  more  appropriate  substitutes  for  the  fol- 
lowing names: 

Lablache  (face  powder). 

Grippen's  Floor  Crack  Filler  and  Finisher  (floor  varnish). 

Nu  fash  end   (shoe  laces). 

Manning-Bowman  Alcohol   Gas  Stove. 

Caementium  (cement  or  glue). 

Mazda  (electric  lamp). 

7.  Could  the  following  names  be  registered?    Why,  or  why  not? 
Keepclean  (brush). 

Indestructo  (trunk). 
Crystal  Domino  (sugar). 

8.  Discuss  the  merits  of  the  trade-marks  (not  the  names)  of  the 
following  products: 

Cat's  Paw  rubber  heels. 
Iver  Johnson  revolver. 
Skinner's  satin. 
Royal  Tailors. 


CHAPTER   XIV 
HEADLINES 

In  the  preparation  of  an  advertisement  three  questions 
concerning  the  headline  have  to  be  faced:  (a)  What  is  the 
best  size  of  type  for  securing  attention  most  effectively? 
(b)  What  is  the  best  number  of  words?  and  (c)  What  is  the 
best  thing  to  say?  The  first  two  problems  have  been  con- 
sidered in  preceding  chapters.  The  third  is  before  us  now. 
The  first  two  relate  to  the  arresting  of  the  attention.  The 
third  relates  to  the  arousing  of  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
reader  so  that  he  may  be  induced  to  continue  to  read  and 
examine  the  entire  contents  of  the  advertisement  more  in 
detail. 

How  May  the  Headline  Stimulate  Interest?  (a)  By 
stating  the  vital  point  of  the  advcrtiseme^it.  This  requires 
a  great  deal  of  keen  analysis  on  the  part  of  the  copywriter. 
He  must  pick  out  the  most  dynamic  idea  in  the  whole  adver- 
tisement and  then  state  it  tersely.  For  example,  "Spare 
Time  Money"  is  an  excellent  heading  for  an  advertisement 
of  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  to  secure  canvassers  for 
their  publications.  It  strikes  the  nail  on  th€  head,  and  ap- 
peals exactly  to  the  persons  who  are  likely  to  be  interested 
in  that  sort  of  work. 

An  advertisement  in  a  college  publication  designed  to 
secure  students  for  the  purpose  of  selling  aluminum  ware 
during  the  summer  vacation  might  use  any  one  of  the  follow- 
ing headlines,  some  of  which  have  been  actually  used : 

It  Pays.  Make  Money. 

Aluminum  Ware.  A  Paying  Proposition. 

Earn  Your  College  Expenses. 
147 


148  ADVERTISING 

There  is  a  quite  obvious  difference  in  the  strength  of  these 
headings.  The  first  is  blind  and  could  be  used  for  advertising 
anything  from  a  thumb  tack  to  an  adding  machine.  It  is 
general  and  indefinite,  and  relates  only  indirectly  to  the  essen- 
tial points  of  the  text.  The  second  is  stereotyped  and  un- 
interesting. The  rest  have  perhaps  an  ascending  degree  of 
definiteness  and  interest-value.  The  young  man  who  makes 
his  own  way  through  college  is  practically  the  only  one  inter- 
ested in  the  proposition,  and  therefore  the  last  two  headings 
would  be  more  to  the  point. 

The  headline  should  give  the  gist  of  the  advertisement,  so 
that  it  may  attract  just  that  class  of  individuals  who  are 
likely  customers.  It  should  act  as  a  sort  of  sieve  for  sifting 
out  only  the  potential  customers. 

A  Chicago  medical  house  was  having  considerable  difficulty  some 
years  ago  with  its  advertising.  It  apparently  was  producing  only 
mediocre  results.  The  headline  was  "Cold  Feet"  in  black  Gothic 
type.  It  was  planned  along  logical  lines.  The  ad  meant  to  attract 
people  who  were  bothered  with  cold  feet. 

Somehow  that  copy  didn't  attract  very  well.  An  agency  man  sug- 
gested changing  the  word  "cold"  to  "warm."  It  was  done  as  an 
experiment.    Not  another  word  in  the  ad  was  changed. 

In  a  twinkling  the  copy  began  landing  the  orders.  To  people  with 
cold  feet  there  was  a  lure  in  the  words  "warm  feet,"  and  the  ad  so 
headed  brought  back  their  orders.  The  same  copy  with  the  same  head- 
le,  is  running  today.i 

(b)  By  using  the  news  factor.  A  headline  may  arouse 
(interest  by  stating  some  significant,  live  news  element  relative 
to  the  goods  advertised.  News  always  appeals  to  the  sense  of 
curiosity.     See  Figure  49  for  an  illustration  of  this  device. 

The  following  are  typical  examples  of  advertisements 
which  employ  the  news  element  in  their  headings : 

New  Speed  in  Billing  (Typewriter  advertisement). 

The  Trained  Man  Has  Money  (International  Correspond- 
ence School). 

In  Front  of  the  "White  House  (Tarvia). 

A  Clock  of  Lifelong  Service. 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  January  4,  1912,  p.  17. 


HEADLINES 


149 


THE  DREADNOUGHT  OF  THE  JUNGLE 


WINCHESTER 


GUNS  and  AMMUNITION 

THE     y^m     BRAND 


T 


AKLTON'  look  his  big  d.H.blc-b;irrcl  and 
i'ivis'^J  nie  to  take  mine,  iis  the  S'.m  ha<l  just 
a;;*';  \\  was  ilkcly  to  be  close  work;  but  I  <hof>k 
i;e;id,  for  lite  Wmchhltr  JOS  is.  nl  least  for 
f>crsonalty,    the    'tnedicine  ):un'    lor    lious.'^ 

,  r,x-PrMi<!eni  Roosvviit 

In  Scribner's  MwAthu- 


I'sed  by  Successful  Hunters.    SoU!  Everywhere 


FiGURj:  49 

Making  use   of  a  news  item.     This  advertisement  appeared 

when  Ex-President  Roosevelt  was  on  his  hunting 

trip  in  Africa 


150  ADVERTISING 

(c)  By  appealing  to  instincts.  Interest  may  always  be 
stimulated  by  appealing  to  some  fundamental  human  need 
or  instinct.  This  applies  not  only  to  the  headline,  but  to  the 
advertisement  as  a  whole.  The  advertiser  constantly  demands 
"Put  human  interest  into  your  copy."  Psychologically,  this 
simply  means  an  appeal  to  the  deep-seated  human  desires  and 
instincts,  such  as  curiosity,  personal  pride  and  ambition,  social 
distinction,  economy,  comfort,  pleasure,  etc. 

Many  of  the  advertisements  of  the  International  Corre- 
spondence School  are  appeals  to  the  personal  ambition  of  the 
young  man,  by  such  headings  as,  "Here  Is  the  Job  —  Now 
Produce,"  "Big  Pay  If  You  Can  Do  It,"  "Opportunities 
for  Government  Positions,"  "The  Talk  That  Made  Bill  and 
Broke  Jim." 

Much  of  the  advertising  of  the  Royal  Tailors  appeals  to 
the  instincts  of  social  superiority  by  headlines  such  as  these: 
"When  You  Become  a  Royal  Tailored  Man,"  "It's  Funny 
What  a  Difference  a  Few  Clothes  Make. ' ' 

Appeals  to  such  desires  as  are  deeply  ingrained  in  human 
nature  are  the  most  pulling  incentives  to  interest  and  action 
that  can  be  applied.  We  shall  consider  them  more  fully  in 
a  later  chapter. 

Form  of  Heading.  Since  the  function  of  the  heading  is 
to  present  at  a  glance  the  gist  of  the  advertisement,  its  form 
should  be  such  that  it  can  be  read  at  a  glance.  The  heading 
should  therefore  be  concise  and  crisp.  As  has  been  previously 
pointed  out  (see  page  G^JT^the  number  of  words  should  not, 
as  a  rule,  exceed  five, — in  fact,  a  smaller  number  is  pref- 
erable. Short  words  are  preferable  to  long  words.  A 
one-line  or  "single-deck"  heading  is  ordinarily  better  for 
advertisements  than  a  heading  with  two  or  three  "decks." 
Several  forms  are  shown  in  Figure  50. 

Classes  of  Display  Headings.  It  would  seem  rather  hope- 
less to  attempt  any  systematic  classification  of  the  bewildering 
variety  of  headlines  in  any  of  our  standard  mediums.  But  a 
little  analysis  shows  that  they  fall  into  a  rather  small  number 


HEADLINES  151 

of  fairly  distinct  classes,  according  to  the  purpose  that  each 
one  attempts  to  accomplish. 

The  following  represent  some  of  the  more  common  headlines : 


Your 

System 

Needs  Such 

a  Food  as  This 


Clark  Heaters 

Stein-Bloch 
Smart  Clothes 


An  Ideal  Gift  for  Old  and  Young 

d 

FiGXJEE   50 

A  heading  should  be  confined  to  one  or  two  decks,  a  has  too 
many  decks,  d  is  too  long  as  a  single  deck.  It  might  be 
improved  by  setting  it  up  in  two  decks.  6  and  c  are  good 
examples  of  a  single  and  a  double-deck  headline  respectively 

(a)  The  name  of  the  firm  or  article.  Examples  of  this 
are:  Victor- Victrola,  Community  Silver,  The  House  of  Kup- 
penheimer,  or  The  Willys-Overland  Company. 

(b)  The  statement  of  a  selling  point,  such  as,  "Starts, 
Ignites,  Lights"  (used  by  the  Remy  Electric  Company)  ; 
"Men's  Shirts  $3"  (used  by  Life-Long  Silk  Company),  or 
"Cooks  Better"  (used  by  the  Kalamazoo  Stove  Company), 


152  ADVERTISING 

(c)  The  indirect  or  suggestive  heading.  This  is  closely 
allied  to  the  preceding  class  and  differs  from  it  mainly  in 
that  the  need  or  utility  of  the  article  is  stated  or  suggested 
somewhat  indirectly,  such  as  "Your  Home  and  Your  Neigh- 
bor's" (used  for  paint  by  the  Lowe  Brothers  Company); 
*'When  You  Build"  (used  by  the  Hydraulic  Press  Brick 
Company),  or  "If  You  Manifold"  (used  by  L.  C.  Smith  Bros. 
Typewriter) . 

(d)  Irrelevant  or  blind  headings,  such  as  "Burglars" 
(used  for  a  breakfast  food),  "We  want,"  "Here  it  is," 
etc. 

Each  one  of  these  classes  except  the  first  may  be  sub- 
divided according  to  the  grammatical  form  of  the  statement, 
as  a  direct  declarative  statement,  a  question,  or  a  command. 
Hence  we  often  speak  of  declarative,  interrogatory,  or  im- 
perative headings.  For  example,  the  heading  of  the  Kala- 
mazoo Stove  Company  may  be  "Cooks  better,"  or  "Do  you 
want  to  cook  better  ? "  or  simply  ' '  Cook  better ! ' '  Each  has  a 
certain  advantage  for  certain  purposes. 

Relative  Merits  of  Different  Glasses  of  Headings.  The 
use  of  the  name  of  the  firm  or  of  the  goods  is  in  general  a 
good,  conservative,  dignified  form  of  headline.  It  reveals 
at  once  whose  advertisement  it  is.  The  name  of  the  article  is, 
as  a  rule,  better  than  the  name  of  the  firm.  It  is  usually 
shorter  and  states  just  what  is  being  presented.  The  name 
of  the  firm,  unless  well  known  to  the  public,  does  not  indicate 
what  sort  of  commodity  is  being  presented.  The  name 
"Tiffany  &  Co."  is  used  regularly  by  this  firm  as  the  display 
line.  There  are  many  readers  who  have  seen  this  name  very 
frequently,  but  who  could  not  say  what  the  firm  makes  or  sells. 
The  display  line  "Community  Silver"  is  much  more  to  the 
point.  It  combines  the  trade  name  with  the  class  of  goods 
advertised.  The  advertiser  should  realize  that,  no  matter 
how  well  he  may  be  known,  there  is  always  a  certain  percent- 
age of  the  readers  who  do  not  know  the  firm,  and  as  a  rulci 
they  are  the  ones  to  be  sought  after  as  the  field  for  new  trade. 
The  mere  displaying  of  the  firm  name  is  effective,  but  it 


HEADLINES  153 

requires  a  longer  time  and  more  frequent  presentations  of  the 
advertisement. 

A  Selling  Point  as  Heading.  The  statement  of  a  selling 
point  in  the  headline  is  more  apt  to  arouse  interest  than  the 
simple  statement  of  the  name.  It  gives  opportunity  to  em- 
ploy in  original  and  forceful  ways  the  news  factor  and  thereby 
stimulates  curiosity  and  a  feeling  of  inquiry.  It  furthermore 
gives  some  definite  point  in  favor  of  the  goods.  The  heading 
"Men's  Shirts  $3"  not  only  states  the  article  but  also  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  high  grade  shirt.  The  heading  "$1250  for 
Husbands"  used  by  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  in  a 
recent  advertisement  contains  a  stirring  news  element  which 
is  quite  sure  to  arouse  interest  for  further  reading. 

An  illustration  in  point  is  the  following  result  of  change 
in  copy  based  chiefly  upon  the  news  element  in  the  headline : 

Years  ago  an  advertising  solicitor  went  to  the  maker  of  a  device 
for  deaf  persons.  The  solicitor  was  to  furnish  a  new  piece  of  mail  order 
copy  for  this  advertiser.  If  the  copy  brought  results,  there  was  a  large 
piece  of  business  in  it  for  him.  Former  copy  had  been  pulling  fairly 
well,  but  it  was  not  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  ambitious  advertiser.  He 
wanted  inquiries  under  a  dollar  each. 

The  solicitor  went  back  to  his  agency  and  put  the  best  man  in  the 
place  at  work  on  this  problem.  The  copywriter  dug,  dug,  dug  for  three 
weeks.  Several  hundred  pieces  of  copy  were  torn  up  before  he  was 
satisfied  he  had  the  right  one. 

It  was  presented  to  the  advertiser,  who  O.  K.  'd  it  without  comment. 
It  was  tried  out  in  a  few  mediums  first.  It  pulled  consistently.  Inquiry 
cost  dropped  to  thirty-four  cents.  At  once  it  went  into  the  concern 's 
entire  list.  Its  size  was  only  three  inches.  Within  a  year  it  had  quad- 
rupled the  business  of  the  manufacturer.  The  headline  was  the  basis  for 
the  entire  copy.     It  was :     * '  The  Deaf  Now  Hear  Whispers. ' ' 

...  In  the  first  place,  the  headline  is  short  enough  to  be  taken  in 
at  a  glance  of  the  eye.  It  was  arranged  in  two  lines  —  a  step-head.  You 
know  that  the  eye  grasps  but  four  words  at  a  single  glance.  There  were 
three  short  words  on  one  line,  and  two  on  the  other. 

In  the  second  place,  the  headline  is  news.  Third,  it  attracts  the 
natural  market  at  which  it  is  aimed  —  the  deaf  people.  The  word 
"deaf"  does  that.i 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  January  4,  1912,  p.  17. 


154  ADVERTISING 

The  effect  of  the  statement  of  the  vital  selling  point  in  the 
headline  is  well  illustrated  in  the  following  example: 

There  are  a  number  of  manufacturers  of  "knock-down"  houses  who 
are  securing  excellent  results  from  their  advertising. 

One  of  them,  several  years  ago,  was  selling  his  output  at  an  adver- 
tising cost  of  less  than  $2100  —  this  amount  being  expended  in  small 
copy  run  several  times  in  a  very  few  mediums.  The  copy  was  usually 
only  about  two  inches  double  column  in  size.  Sometimes  it  ran  to  three 
inches  double  column. 

.  .  .  Such  headlines  as  "The  Ideal  Knock -Down  House,"  "Your 

Summer   Home  $ , "   "Build   Your   Own    Summer   Home,"  were 

used  to  advantage.  They  pulled  the  inquiries,  and  with  an  ordinary  fol- 
low-up system  landed  enough  orders  to  dispose,  each  year,  of  an  output 
slightly  larger  than  the  year  previous. 

.  .  .  He  (the  agency  copywriter)  remembered  having  once  erected 
one  of  the  houses  in  less  than  two  hours.  The  thought  struck  him  that 
this  would  make  an  excellent  topic  for  one  of  the  advertisements  in  the 
campaign.  It  happened  that,  instead  of  writing  an  entire  advertise- 
ment on  the  subject,  he  was  compelled  to  take  an  advertisement  very 
similar  to  one  utilized  the  year  previous,  and  he  merely  scratched  out 
a  somewhat  platitudinous  headline  and  wrote  this  for  the  headline: 
"Build  Your  Own  House  in  Two  Hours." 

.  .  .  The  entire  advertisement  was  two  and  a  half  inches  double 
column.  .  .  .  Along  in  May  or  June  of  a  year  or  so  ago  this  advertise- 
ment—  the  first  of  the  campaign  —  appeared  in  one  of  the  well-known 
national  weeklies.  .  .  .  The  week  the  ad  appeared  the  manufacturer 
received  1000  inquiries  from  this  five-inch  piece  of  copy.  To  him,  that 
in  itself  was  extraordinary.  Before  the  advertisement  ceased  pulling  it 
brought  3000  inquiries  and  it  was  scarcely  a  month  later  when  the 
year's  output  was  sold.  This  ad  had  pulled  more  than  six  times  the 
number  of  inquiries  of  any  previous  ad  —  solely  as  a  result  of  a  changed 
headline.  A  correctly  gauged  headline  effected  the  sale  of  the  entire 
year 's  output.    The  rest  of  the  space  was  canceled.^ 

The  Question  and  the  Command.  The  interrogatory- 
form  of  heading  tends  to  heighten  interest.  A  question  natu- 
rally stimulates  a  response  as  a  matter  of  habit.  Likewise, 
the  command  is  a  forceful  form  of  caption.  It  is  particularly 
useful  in  advertisements  aiming  to  secure  immediate  action, 
because  the  immediate  impulse  following  a  command  is  to 

1,  Printer's  Ink,  F'ebruary  28,  1912, -p.  28. 


HEADLINES  155 

obey  it.     This  fact  is  based  upon  the  subtle  power  of  sug- 
gestion and  habit.    More  of  this  will  be  said  in  a  later  chapter. 
There  are  numerous  instances  of  successful  imperative 
headings. 

The  Pompeian  Massage  Cream  people  know  that  their  headline, 
"Don't  Envy  a  Good  Complexion;  Use  Pompeian  and  Have  One,"  has 
probably  sold  more  of  their  product  for  them  than  any  other  headline 
that  has  ever  been  used  as  a  caption  for  their  advertisements.! 

Others  of  the  same  type  that  have  pulled  effectively  are, 
"Don't  Be  a  Pump,  Buy  One,"  used  by  the  Fuller  &  Johnson 
Company;  later,  "Don't  Be  an  Adding  Machine,  Buy  One!" 
was  used  by  an  adding  machine  manufacturer,  and  Dickson's 
"Stop  Forgetting"  has  brought  large  returns.  The  Pom- 
peian heading  is  rather  long,  but  it  is  exceptionally  "catchy" 
and  suggestive. 

Blind  Headings.  So  far  as  the  irrelevant  or  blind  head- 
ing is  concerned,  there  is  little  by  way  of  commendation  that 
can  be  said  for  it.  In  the  early  days  of  patent  medicine 
advertising  it  was  considered  the  height  of  skillful  advertising 
to  shout  "Murder"  in  a  bold  headline  and  then  tell  a  cruel 
tale  of  assassination  and  finally  refer  at  the  end  to  So-and- 
So  's  pills  or  bitters.  Clean  advertising  today  looks  with  scorn 
upon  such  methods.  The  present  tendency  has  been  very 
distinctly  away  from  irrelevant  material  in  advertisements, 
toward  a  straightforward  presentation  of  the  proposition. 
Statistics  show  that  in  1890  and  earlier,  about  15  percent  of 
full-  and  half-page  advertisements  used  either  irrelevant  head- 
ings or  irrelevant  illustrations,  or  both  —  about  5  percent 
used  both.  Today  less  than  half  as  many  advertisements  use 
irrelevant  material.  The  opinions  of  nearly  all  advertising 
experts  is  against  the  use  of  blind  headings  and  cuts. 

Objections  to  Blind  Headingfs.  The  chief  objections  to 
irrelevant  displays  are:  1.  An  irrelevant  headline  or  cut 
gives  absolutely  no  information  about  the  article  or  about 
the  proposition.    Its  only  excuse  can  be  to  arrest  the  momen- 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  January  4,  1912,  p.  17. 


156  ADVERTISING 

tary  attention  of  the  reader.  But  relevant  material  will  do 
that  just  as  well  and,  in  addition,  will  impart  some  facts  or 
qualities  about  the  goods.  It  would  be  no  less  absurd  than 
for  a  salesman  to  spend  most  of  his  time  talking  to  his  custom- 
ers about  events  in  distant  parts  of  the  world  and  at  the  end 
.of  his  conversation  to  refer  incidentally  to  his  line  of  goods. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  salesman  in  this  case  would  have  a 
certain  efficiency,  because  he  would  finally  get  in  a  word  about 
his  goods,  whereas  one  seldom  reads  the  irrelevant  advertise- 
ment far  enough  to  learn  even  the  name  of  the  article  ad- 
vertised. 

2.  Blind  and  misleading  headings  often  give  the  reader  a 
feeling  of  being  deceived  and  trapped  into  reading  something 
in  which  he  is  not  in  the  least  interested.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  advertisements  set  up  so  as  to  resemble  the  regular 
reading  matter  of  a  newspaper.  In  such  instances  the  blind 
heading  becomes  a  blind  trap  and  it  makes  the  reader  a 
permanent  enemy. 

3.  Irrelevant  material  does  not  have  as  much  permanent 
attention-  and  interest-value  as  relevant  copy.  Gale^  made 
some  experiments  to  determine  the  interest- value  of  relevant 
words,  relevant  cuts,  irrelevant  words,  and  irrelevant  cuts  as 
headlines.  He  used  actual  advertisements  in  which  each  of 
these  features  was  prominent  and  tested  them  by  means  of 
the  rapid  exposure  method  in  five  successive  trials.  His  find- 
ings are  set  forth  in  the  curves  of  Figure  51.  These  curves 
show  that  relevant  words  rank  the  highest  for  attention-value 
and  that  they  tend  to  increase  in  interest  in  the  successive 
trials.  Next  in  value  come  relevant  cuts,  then  irrelevant  cuts, 
and  last  irrelevant  words.  These  last  also  tend  to  decrease  in 
interest  in  successive  exposures.  By  these  repeated  expo- 
sures Gale  approximated  the  condition  of  a  reader  seeing  the 
advertisement  in  different  mediums  or  repeatedly  in  the  same 
medium.  The  results  indicate  that  as  soon  as  the  novelty  of 
the  irrelevant  material  has  worn  off  the  advertisement  loses 
in  interest,  whereas  the  strictly  relevant  material  maintains 

1.  Gale,  Psychology  of  ■  Advertising,  p.  50. 


HEADLINES 


157 


interest  because  it  actually  furnishes  something  for  further 
consideration. 

4.  The  memory-value  of  irrelevant  material  is  very  small. 
Thus  in  the  magazine  test  referred  to  in  an  earlier  chapter 
it  was  found  that  many  of  the  irrelevant  display  lines  or  cuts 
were  remembered,  but  that  the  persons  did  not  recall  what  the 
advertisement  was  about.  Several  recalled  seeing  a  picture 
of  a  "woman  and  a  snake,"  or  "a  man  plowing  dollars,"  or 
"a  girl  driving,"  but  they  did  not  remember  that  the  first 


80 
70 

60 
50 
40 
30 
30 
10 


Relevant  Words 


Relevant  Cuts 

Irrelevant  Cuts 
Irrelevant  Words 


13      3      4      5 

Figure  51 
Five  successive  exposures  of  each  of  the  four  different  forms 
of   display    material   mentioned   above.     A   rise   in   the   curve 
indicates  increased  interest  value  with  each  successive  exposure. 
A  drop  indicates  the  reverse.     (Adapted  from  Gale,  p.  50,  Fig.  2) 

was  an  advertisement  of  books,  the  second  of  a  railroad,  and 
the  third  of  a  soap.  Shryer  in  his  table  of  results,  page  52, 
shows  that  the  irrelevant  blind  copy  used  in  the  36-line  space 
brought  many  inquiries,  but  they  were  of  an  undesirable  kind. 
It  "caught"  many  curiosity  seekers  who  inquired  for  the 
sake  of  inquiring.  The  result  was  that  while  the  cost  per 
inquiry  was  low  the  cash  returns  per  dollar  of  advertising 
cost  was  less  than  the  cash  returns  of  any  other  space  except 
the  20-line  space.  The  20-line  space  was  ineffective  because  of 
the  absence  of  illustrations. 


158 


ADVERTISING 


There  are  no  doubt  rare  exceptions  in  which  irrelevant 
matter  is  fully  justified  and  possibly  more  effective  than 
relevant  matter.  Such  instances  usually  turn  out  well  because 
they  are  skillful  appeals  to  curiosity. 

Relative  Use  of  Different  Kinds  of  Headings.  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  interesting  to  notice  the  relative  frequency  with 
which  the  different  classes  of  display  lines  are  used  in  current 
mediums.  A  tabulation  of  the  325  advertisements  appearing 
in  a  recent  issue  of  Everybody's  Magazine  showed  the  follow- 
ing percentage  for  each  class  of  heading  and  for  each  size  of 
advertisement : 


Name  of  article. 
Name  of  firm . . . 

Selling  point 

Indirect  heading 
Blind  heading. . , 
Command ...  , . 
Question 


Full 
Page 


60% 

4 
16 
10 

4 

3 

3 


Half 
Page 


65% 
4 
6 
16 
0 
8 
2 


Quarter 
Page 


68% 

3 
13 
10 

0 

3 

3 


Smaller 
Spaces 


28% 
0 

25 

19 
5 

19 
4 


The  name  of  the  goods  is  used  as  the  caption  by  approxi- 
mately two-thirds  of  all  advertisements  except  the  very  small 
ones.  The  next  largest  class  is  the  statement  of  a  selling 
point  either  stated  directly  or  suggested  indirectly.  These 
two  comprise  about  one-fourth  of  all  headings.  Another  sig- 
nificant fact  is  that  the  very  small  advertisements  use  the 
name  of  the  article  in  only  about  one-fourth  of  the  cases,  and 
instead  use  the  command  and  the  statement  of  some  selling 
point  far  more  frequently  than  the  larger  spaces  do.  This  is 
no  doubt  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  users  of  small 
space  are  seeking  for  immediate  returns  more  generally  than 
the  users  of  large  space.  And  possibly  under  the  pressure  of 
using  small  space  they  are  forced,  as  it  were,  to  make  their 
proposition  just  as  interesting,  forceful,  and  concentrated  as 
possible.  Hence  the  command  and  the  selling  argument  are 
uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the  copywriter. 


HEADLINES 


159 


HEY! 
YOU 


We  have  talked,  talked, 
talked— now  we  want  a 
chance  to 

Show  You 


Catch  Phrases  and  Slogans.  Catch  phrases  such  as 
** Ivory  soap,  it  floats,"  are  elements  in  advertising  which 
are  closely  related  to  headlines.  They  are  designed  primarily 
to  popularize  and  impress  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people  some 
significant  point  about  a  com- 
modity or  a  proposition.  Many 
national  advertisers  have  devel- 
oped such  phrases  and  popular- 
ized them  very  successfully. 
Psychologically  they  are  simply 
an  aid  to  memory. 

The  requisites  for  a  good 
catch  phrase  are  that  it  should 
be  short,  euphonious,  rhyth- 
mical, alliterative.  Not  all  of 
these  features  are  necessary  for 
a  successful  slogan,  but  they 
may  all  contribute  in  one  in- 
stance or  another.  The  words 
of  a  slogan  should  rhyme  or  at 
least  have  a  pleasing  sound  so 
that  they  may  be  easy  tot  re- 
member, easy  to  speak,  and 
"catchy,"  so  as  to  induce  repe- 
tition, for  that  is  just  the  pur- 
pose of  the  slogan.  A  phrase 
with  rhyming  words  and  poet- 
ical cadence  is  retained  in  mind 
more  easily,  as  has  been  shown 
by  experimental  studies.  In 
school,  various  things  that  have 
to  be  committed  to  memory, 
such  as  the  months  of  the  year, 
the  number  of  days  of  the  dif- 
ferent months,  grammatical 
forms,    and   the   like,    are   fre- 


the  finest,  classiest  line  of  fall  fur- 
nishings your  money  can  buy. 

^  Hats  and  Caps  in  every  shade 
and  style  at  prices  that  satisfy. 

•If  Ties  and  Scarfs— a  brand  new 
shipment  of  the  real  new  effects  in 
fancy  knits  and  silks. 

<I[  ShirtS"of  the  patterns  and  fab* 
rics  that  make  the  well-dressed 
man  proud. 

^  And  socks,  and  overcoab,  and  raincoaa, 
and.sweater-vests  and  everything  else  you 
want. .  But  we  have  said  enough,  'now  let 
us  SHOW  YOU. 


IVIurrish 

428  state  Phone  2264 


Figure  52 


160 


ADVEHTISING 


quently  taught  to  children  by  constructing  them  into  rhymes. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  popularized  slogans :  ^ 

Works  without  waste  (Sapolio). 

Ivory  soap,  it  floats. 

Have  you  a  little  fairy  in  your  home?  (Fairy  soap). 

Hasn't  scratched  yet  (Bon  Ami). 

There's  a  reason  (Postum  Company). 

Costs  more  —  worth  it  (Occident  flour). 


iffiu.d,.k^,dJ^i.,b..i.Ni.d^iiiiBiiioy.iiiiiiiB.y.,.,,..^,r,...i^ 

"THEY  FIT  ROYALLYi 


HUJJUUg 


Shirts.»l.Qo  ai\d\ip  Shirts.  30*aivd75? 

T  JNLESS  your  shirt  fits,  the  best  material 
^  and  most  skilful  workmanship  count 
fi  ir  liot  hitii;.  ']"he  style  and  general  correct- 
nc>s.s  of  a  sliirt  depend  wholly  upon  its  fit. 
"EMPEROR".  ;ui.i  .'4'RIXCELV"  Shirts  apply 
to  rcaciy-to-wa«j^"garmcnLs-  the  self-same  careful  and 
accurate  methijfcxif  the  "custom"'  shop. 
They  arc  rut  fujS^d  rnomy;  thi-y  ?it ;  right;  fit  right;  wc-ar 
right;  wa?h  right>V/£vcry  shirt  is  tried  on  a  living  model  to  in- 
sure ease,  grace  aftd  poiso.     That*i  why  "  they  fit  royally." 

Your  dealer  sells  them.  More  than  900  modish  and  exclu- 
sive patterns  to  choose  from.  ■.  Insist  on  getting  "  EMPEROR  " 
or  "PRINCELY"  Shirts,  and  be  sure  to  loot  for  cither  of  the 
lalx'ls  shown  above.  Beautiful  Style-Pannrama  '*  F  "  in  colors 
■sent  free.     Write  for  it. 

PHILLIPS-JONES  COMPANY,  502-504  Broadway,  New  York 

Alio  Maters  oj  •'Jack  Rahbil  "  Work  S'lirls 
Largest  Sbirl  .Manufacturer?  in  Ihc  Unil..-d  Slal<-s.     E.'ilablrshcd  lUC. 


SSBBEBBB 


Figure  53 


Ask  the  man  who  owns  one  (Packard  automobile). 

The  machine  you  will  eventually  buy  (Underwood  type- 
writer) . 

You  can  pay  more  but  you  can't  buy  more  (Royal  type- 
writer). 

From  Kalamazoo  direct  to  you  (Kalamazoo  Stove). 

His  Master's  Voice  (Victor  phonograph). 

1.  See  Casson,  Ads  and  Sales,  p.  102. 


HEADLINES  161 

Don't  travel  —  telephone  (Bell  Telephone  Company). 

The  ham  what  am  (Armour  &  Co.). 

Hammer  the  hammer  (Tver  Johnson  revolver). 

The  road  of  a  thousand  wonders  (Southern  Pacific). 

The  watch  that  made  the  dollar  famous  (Ingersoll  watch). 

Who's  your  tailor?  (E.  V.  Price  &  Co.). 

Most  of  the  preceding  phrases  are  constructed  on  the  cor- 
rect principles.  Particularly  good  are  "From  Kalamazoo 
direct  to  you"  or  "Ask  the  man  who  owns  one."  They  are 
suggestive  of  worth  and  convenience.  The  latter  contains  an 
implied  challenge,  laying  the  record  and  efficiency  of  the 
commodity  open  to  the  best  possible  test,  namely,  the  test  of 
experience  on  the  part  of  the  user.  Such  a  challenge  carries 
with  it  a  strong  appearance  of  conviction. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  a  phrase  as  "Who's  Your 
Tailor?"  is  meaningless  and  devoid  of  any  suggestive  worth. 
The  phrase  is  not  apt  to  be  associated  more  readily  with  one 
tailor  than  with  another.  "For  school  life  and  life's  school" 
is  too  difficult  to  speak  and  lacks  rhythmical  swing.  It  re- 
minds one  of  the  phrase,  "She  sells  sea-shells."  "The  watch 
that's  made  for  the  majority"  also  is  weak  in  rhythm  and 
"  catchiness. "  It  would  seem  to  be  obvious  that  the  adver- 
tiser wastes  money  when  he  spends  large  sums  in  the  effort 
to  popularize  his  products  by  phrases  totally  lacking  in 
meaning  and  "catchiness." 


PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Obtain  one  advertisement  which  in  your  opinion  has  a  good  dis- 
play line  and  one  which  has  a  poor  display  line.  In  what  ways  do  they 
conform  to  or  violate  the  general  principles  about  headlines? 

2.  Prepare  two  good  headlines  for  umbrella  advertisements  to  appear 
in  newspapers. 

3.  Criticize  and  rewrite  the  headings  of  the  advertisements  in  Figs. 
52  and  53. 


162 


ADVERTISING 


The  Knapp-Felt 
shapes  for  spring  are 
exclusive  C&K  de- 
signs modeled  on 
lines  which  will  har- 
monize properly  with 
the  lighter  apparel  of 
the  season.  The  va- 
riety of  styles  affords  an  opportunity  for 
individual  selection  which,  combined  with 
the  superb  quality  and  steadfast  Cronap  dye, 
forms  the  most  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
hat  problem  for -discriminating  men-those 
for  whom  the  best  is  none  too  good. 

Knapp-Felt  DeLuxe  hats  are  Six  Dollars,  Knapp-Felts  are  Four  Dollars— 

everywhere. 
Your  newspaper  probably  has  the  advertisement  of  a  hatter  who  sells  Knapp-FeltSk 

Write  for   The  Hatman 

The  Crofut  &  Knapp  Co. 

838  Broadway,  New  York 

Figure  54 

4.  Analyze  the  text  of  the  above  advertisement,  Figure  54,  into  the 
essential  point  or  points  and  then  write  six  possible  headings  for  it,  indi- 
cating which  one  you  would  use.  Each  heading  is  to  illustrate  one  of 
these  types,  (a)  stating  the  vital  point,  (b)  news  heading,  (c)  appealing 
to  some  fundamental  human  instinct  or  need,  (d)  name  of  firm  or 
product,  (e)  stating  a  selling  point,  (f)  an  indirect  suggestive  heading. 


CHAPTER  XV 
ILLUSTEATIONS 

Functions  of  Illustrations.  The  primary  purposes  of  an 
illustration  are  (1)  to  attract  attention,  (2)  to  make  the 
advertisement  interesting,  (3)  to  make  the  advertisement 
easier  to  comprehend  by  portraying  the  article  or  illustratiug 
some  relevant  point,  and  (4)  to  make  an  artistic  appeal  to 
good  taste.  Mankind  has  a  natural  interest  in  pictures,  be- 
cause pictures  are  the  most  realistic  substitutes  for  the  objects 
portrayed.  Pictures  speak  a  universal  language.  Before  the 
development  of  methods  of  writing  by  means  of  letters  and 
words,  primitive  people  drew  pictures  of  objects,  and  of  ani- 
mals and  their  actions.  An  illustration  can  represent  at  a 
glance  what  would  require  paragraphs  to  describe.  It  there- 
fore helps  to  impart  the  message  more  easily,  more  quickly, 
and  more  completely. 

Effectiveness  of  Illustrations.  Generally  speaking,  there 
are  two  opposing  camps  of  advertising  men.^  The  one  group 
believes  that  "reason  why,"  or  logic,  is  all  that  is  worth  con- 
sidering in  the  preparation  of  copy.  The  other  believes  that 
pretty  pictures,  unconscious  impressions,  artistic  decorations, 
high  class  art  work,  are  the  main  forces  in  advertising.  But 
a  complete  analysis  of  the  principles  underlying  the  practice 
of  advertising  and  a  careful  observation  of  human  nature 
must  convince  one  that  both  features  are  important.  To  be 
sure,  the  one  set  of  factors  is  relatively  more  potent  for  some 
commodities,  while  the  other  set  may  be  more  effective  for 
other  commodities.  We  act  both  from  reason  and  from  sug- 
gestion. 

Hollingworth^  has  shown  by  an  investigation  that  there 
are  two  fairly  distinct  types  of  persons :  those  who  are  more 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  January  11,  1912,  p.  59. 

2.  Judicious  Advertising,  March,   1912,  p.  68. 

163 


164 


ADVEETISING 


attracted  and  interested  in  straightforward  description  or 
argument,  and  those  who  are  less  imaginative  and  therefore 
require  pictures  to  assist  in  forming  clear  ideas  of  objects. 
In  studying  a  group  of  expert  engineers  with  respect  to  the 
persuasiveness  of  different  sorts  of  machinery  advertisements, 
Professor  Hollingworth  says,  "The  men  broke  into  two 
sharply  defined  groups.  Members  of  one  group  seemed  to 
think  in  terms  of  visual  pictures.  They  did  not  need  an 
illustration  of  the  machine,  for  the  words  themselves  called 
up  vivid  mental  pictures  of  the  parts  and  the  advantages  de- 
scribed. To  these  men,  the  presence  of  a  cut  was  not  neces- 
sary—  they  wanted  all  the  text  they  could  get  and  placed 
copy  advertisements  higher  than  advertisements  with  illus- 
trations. 

**But  for  the  men  in  the  other  group,  the  words  called  up 
no  mental  pictures.  They  thought  in  terms  of  sound  and 
movements,  and  had  to  have  a  complete  cut  of  the  machine 
before  them  before  they  could  perfectly  comprehend  its  ad- 
vantages. For  such  men  advertisements  with  clear  cuts  were 
more  persuasive  than  those  with  only  reading  matter." 

Strong^  made  a  similar  investigation  with  thirty  women, 
using  ten  soap  advertisements.  His  results  as  shown  in  the 
following  table,  corroborate  the  conclusions  of  Hollingworth. 


1 
All 
Cut 

2 
All 
Text 

3 

Cut 

4 
Text 

5 

Cut 

6 
Text 

7 
Cut 

8 
Text 

9 

Cut 

10 
All 
Text 

Group  A,  with  good 
pictorial    imagina- 
tion  

-4.2 
+3.1 

+2.6 
-2.9 

-0.1 
+0.1 

+0.2 
-0.2 

+0.7 
-0.3 

+0.4 

fl.O 

+1.3 
-1.1 

-1.0 

+0.9 

-1.0 
+0.5 

+1  0 

Group  B,  with  poor 
pictorial   imagina- 
tion  

-0.3 

The  plus  signs  indicate  that  the  advertisements  were  pre- 
ferred, and .  the  minus  signs  indicate  that  they  were  not 
preferred.  The  numbers  indicate  the  extent  of  preference 
or  prejudice.     Group  A,   quite  uniformly,  placed  the  text 

1.  Relative  Merit  of  Advertisements. 


ILLUSTBATI0N8  165 

advertisements  high  and  the  cut  advertisements  low,  while 
for  group  B  the  reverse  holds.  "The  inference  is,  then,  that 
the  ideal  advertisement  should  contain,  other  things  being 
equal,  both  cut  and  reading  matter. ' ' 

Pulling  Power  of  Cuts.  To  learn  the  actual  pulling  power 
of  advertisements  with  cuts  as  compared  with  those  without 
cuts,  see  the  table  on  page  52.  In  the  column  giving  cost 
per  inquiry  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  20-line  copy  brought 
the  most  expensive  returns  —  $1.47  per  inquiry,  which  is  over 
twice  as  high  as  the  average  cost  per  inquiry  of  the  others, 
or  .68.  This  20-line  copy  is  the  only  one  in  which  no  cut  was 
used,  except  the  classified  advertisements.  Such  a  record  as 
this  compiled  by  Shryer  shows  pretty  positive  proof  of  the 
actual  attention-  and  interest- value  of  illustrations.  There 
are  no  doubt  instances  in  which  the  value  of  cuts  is  even 
greater  than  indicated  here. 

Another  example  of  the  value  of  illustrations  is  given  in 
the  following  campaign : 

Thomas  Cort,  Inc.,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  is  now  doing  considerable 
advertising  of  a  high  grade  line  of  ready-to-wear,  custom-made  shoes. 
The  copy  is  being  run  in  the  highest  grade  publications,  usually  in  pre- 
ferred position.  The  Cort  shoes  are  made  to  sell  for  from  $8  to  $14  per 
pair.  The  advertiKer  started  in  February  of  this  year.  According  to 
Mr.  Tonkin,  an  official  of  the  concern,  the  reason  why  no  illustrations  have 
been  used  in  connection  with  his  series  of  advertisements  is  the  fact  that 
it  is  perfectly  possible  to  prepare  cuts  which  will  make  a  $3.50  pair  of 
shoes  look  just  as  good  as  a  pair  of  $14  Cort-made.  .  .  .  Although  but 
one  lone  dealer  inquiry  has  been  received  in  four  months,  Mr.  Tonkin 
explains  that  he  is  not  over-anxious  about  returns  upon  his  advertising 
before  December  at  the  earliest  inasmuch  as  he  believes  that  it  will  natur- 
ally take  that  long  to  attain  its  efficiency.  .  .  . 

Whether  all  this  aversion  to  illustration  is  squeamishness,  or  is 
founded  on  real  fact,  is  a  matter  that  does  not  seem  to  be  settled.  The 
majority  of  indications  seem  to  point  toward  the  illustration  of  the  goods 
wherever  possible.  The  logic  of  the  matter  is  unassailable,  and  only  for 
goods  of  radical  exclusiveness  does  there  seem  to  be  even  a  gleam  of 
justification  for  refusal  to  shew  what  the  goods  look  like.  Even  these 
might  improve  their  results  if  they  employed  art  work  in  keeping  with 
their  pretentions.  .  .  . 

Perhaps  no  better  illustration,  by  way  of  comparison  between  the 


166 


ADVERTISING 


illustrated  advertisement  and  the  non-illustrated  advertisement,  and  one, 
by  the  way,  bearing  directly  upon  the  Thomas  Cort  experiment,  is  at 


The 

Lasting  Impression 

of  Artistic  Hardware 

Let  the  hardware  trimmings 
about  your  house  reflect  your 
chosen  architectural  scheme 
and  create  an  impression  of 
true  taste  and  refinement  In 
home  finishing.  Whatever 
the  woodwork  or  decoration, 
plain  or  elaborate,  perfect 
harmony  is  assured  by 

SARGENTS 

ArUsHcHardware 

Illustrations  and  descriptions 
of  over  seventv  distinctive 
designs  are  contained  ii; 

Swguira  Book  •!  Dcslgns-FrM 

Alsoexplains  the  Easy  Spring 
Principle  of  Sarj;ent's  Locks. 
TheColonlal  Book— ihowinsCut 
Gl-ns  Kiiob'k.  Door  Knockcis.  and 
other  Cdanjal  Itttinss—aUo  tret  on 
re<jue5t  Wnti  at  ©net. 
WmCIITteO.,  1(1  iMurrfSt..  Hew  York. 


An 


illustration     which 
illustrates 


really 


Figure  56 

Does  not   illustrate  the  article 
clearly 


hand  in  the  case  of  a  certain  other  dealer  in  high  grade  shoes  who 
recently  took  space  in  Vogue.     He  preferred  not  to  use  illustrations  in 


ILLVSTBATIONS 


167 


spite  of  the  fact  that  practically  every  competitor,  such  as  William 
Bernstein,  Andrew  Alexander,  and  J.  &  J.  Slater,  was  using  high  grade 
illustrations  freely.  The  dealer  was  urged  to  use  at  least  one  illustra- 
tion, but  persistently  refused,  preparing  carefully  hand-lettered  copy. 
The  results  were  naturally  awaited  with  great  interest.  Where  the 
advertisers  who  used  illustrations  had  excellent  returns,  the  dealer  who 
preferred  to  run  solid  talk  found  practically  no  return  for  the  money 
he  had  spent.i 


See  what  happens  wkeit  you 
boil  an  ordinary  shaping  brush 


1 


■  This  is  a  photograph  of  an  ordinary  sliavinK  -j 

brush  aher  being  boiled  about  a  minute.  j 

The  salesman  represented  it  to  be  a  "very  j 

good  brush"  and,  as  ordinary  brushes  go.  it  was.  j 

But  who  wains  to  i,se  cold  water  f'n  sluviiij^  ?  \ 

Hot  water— one  oJ  tiie  t-ssentiais  to  a  comiuriable  I 

shave,  s-jftt-ns  all  settiij;^s  of  gU:e,  rosin,  or  cement  I 

and  in  a  very  short  time  ruins  the  brush.  ; 

Hot  water— ftojVmjy-  water  will  never  harm  a  ; 


RUBBERSET 

Shaving  Brush 

Nothing  happens  a?hen  you  boil  a 
%ubberset  Shamng  "Brush 

The  bristles  are  hcid  m  a  solid  bed  of  hard. 
vulcanized  rubber  which  is  absolutely  impervious 
to  water,  hot  or  cold.  Never  crumbles  or  swells 
—in  fact,  the  setting  is  there  to  last  a  lifetime. 

And  yet  this  almost  indestrucltbie  brush  costs 
no  more  than  the  ordinary  bristte-shedtlinK  kinds. 

Ouaraniced  never  to  lose  a  bristle  from  its 
selling.    Look  for  the  name  on  each  brush. 


A  lut>e  of  creani  thai  p(o< 
ever  tried,  tl  is  comtw&ed  o 
no  frw  alkali, 

To  cnfoy  the  luxury  oi  .■. 
skin  attur  kluvins— try  a  tul- 
2.^  cents  a  tube  at  ail  deaU-T-, 


BERSET 


Shaving  Cream  Soap 


FlGUEE   57 

Illustrating  a  selling  point 

Specific  Functions  of  Illustrations.  1.  An  illustration 
should  really  illustrate.  There  are,  of  course,  advertisements 
in  which  the  cut  has  other  advantages,  but  when  there  is  a 


1.  Printer's  Ink,  June  23,  1910,  p.  33. 


168 


ADVERTISING 


cut  designed  to  illustrate,  it  should  really  exhibit  the  goods. 
It  may  illustrate  (a)  the  appearance  and  construction  of  the 
article,  or  (b)  the  article  in  use,  and  convenience  derived 
therefrom,  or  (c)  some  good  quality  or  selling  point  about 


-P 


\ 


\ 


\>, 


HOW^  rOOLI6H  It  16 

TOWi^STE  NEEDED  ENERGY  WHEN 

SAPOLIO 

CLEANS       SCOUE.5      POLISHES 

r~-"- ^ — ' — ^' '^""^'""i 


Figure  58 
An  irrelevant  illustration. 

the  article.  For  example,  a  suit  of  clothes  might  be  exhibited 
on  a  hanger,  but  a  cut  of  a  young  man  wearing  the  suit  adds 
a  strong  touch  of  realism.  See  Figures  55  and  57,  and  the 
comments. 

2.  Illustrations  may  be  used  to  lend  an  artistic  tone  or 
atmosphere  to  an  advertisement  which  cannot  be  produced  in 
any  other  way. 


ILLUSTBATIONS 


169 


3.  In  some  more  exceptional  advertisements  the  cuts  may- 
add  to  the  trustworthiness  of  the  proposition.  A  bank  may 
illustrate  its  location  and  building,  or  the  deposit  vaults.  A 
portrait,  particularly  in  mail  order  advertising,  often  increases 
the  confidence  in  the  advertisement. 

4.  An  illustration  heightens  the  interest  and  vividness  by 
the  portrayal  of  action.  An  object  in  action  appeals  more 
to  our  interest  than  the  same  object  in  a  stable,  inactive 
condition.  Statistics  show  that  action  pictures  are  used  far 
more  frequently  today  than  in  the  earlier  history  of  adver- 


*  FLOOR 
VARNISH 


may  Je»l  the  tntd,  tut 

jou  can 't  craci  tkt  varnish 

"61"  is  fracture  -  proof, 
heel-proof,  and  water- 
proof. It  merges  with 
the  flooring  and  will  not  crack  or  chip 
off.     Easy  to  apply,  hard  to  wear  out 

Send  for  Free  Sample  Panel 

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Get  our  booklet  "The  Finished  Floor." 
It  tells  how  to  have  and  how  to  keep  a 
perfecl  floor  with  little  labor  or  expense. 

For  Exterior  Uie,  Pratt  &  Lambert  Spar 
Finishing  Varnish  is  especially  made  to  resist 
changing  climatic  conditions.  Absolutely  no- 
mffected  by  moisture  or  water. 

For  Interior Um  (ejcepting  Boots)  "38"  Pre- 
lervative  Varnish  for  the  finest  finish,  and  *'1 10" 
Cabinet  Varnish  for  general  work,  are  unequalled. 

For  White  Enund  Work,  use  Vitralite 
•Tlie  Long-Life  Enamel,"  a  permanent  white 
enamel  for  indoors  or  outdoora.  Never  tuns 
jellow  nor  shows  brush  marks. 

Good  deakn  tell  Pr«tt  &  LaimbeTl  VuTutbo.    If  yowl 

•doca&'t,  write  to  us.     Price-list  aod  lilerAture  on  reqoeA 

*  tf  J**  Aw  k  M  «U  LiM;  ««« II  Om««  to  a.  Cm" 

TRArr&lAMBERT  VARNISHES 


Figure  59 


Tiffany  &  Co. 


Articles  at  moderate  prices 
have  always  been  a  feature 
of  Tiffany  &  Co.'s  itocV. 
Every  order  is  given  the  most 
exacting  attention  regani- 
leas  of  iIk  amount  involved 


«■!    i^oa    n^otst.  COHIMB    oacac   dc 
KiiiaiaB  »d  Ike  raafc   «l  prim  tt  jew. 


Fifth  Avenne  &  37th  Street  New  York 


Figure  60 


tising.     Today  wherever  human  beings  are  used  in  illustra- 
tions they  are  represented  in  action  as  often  as  possible. 

One  point,  however,  requires  special  notice  here,  namely, 
the  fact  that  whenever  a  human  being  or  an  animal  is  repre- 
sented in  action  it  should  be  shown  in  one  of  its  natural 
resting  positions.  That  is,  a  picture  of  a  man  walking  should 
not  show  him  with  one  foot  on  the  ground  and  the  other  in 


170  ADVERTISING 

mid-air,  but  both  feet  should  be  on  the  ground  just  as  he  has 
completed  a  step  and  is  ready  to  take  the  next  one.  Unless 
this  is  done  the  figure  appears  awkward  and  stilted. 

The  chief  reason  for  this  principle  is  that  unless  a  figure  is 
represented  in  one  of  the  several  resting  positions  it  appears 
unstable  and  lacking  in  sufficient  support.  Another  reason  is 
that  the  eyes  do  not  see  an  object  distinctly  while  they  are 
in  motion,  but  they  stop  momentarily  and  obtain  successive 
glimpses  of  a  moving  object.  Consequently  we  do  not  asso- 
ciate the  unpoised  positions  with  movement  as  readily  as  the 
naturally  poised  positions. 

'PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Obtain  one  advertisement  which  has  a  distinctly  good  illustration 
and  one  wliich  has  a  distinctly  poor  illustration.  Explain  why  you 
selected  these. 

2.  In  what  sorts  of  advertising  would  illustrations  be  almost  indis- 
pensable and  in  what  sorts  would  they  be  of  little  or  no  value?  Mention 
several  examples. 

3.  Suggest  appropriate  illustrations  for  Figs.  59  and  60.  Sketch 
and  specify  the  illustrations  you  would  use. 


N 


CHAPTER  XVI 

KEPETITION  AND  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT 

The  Principle  of  Repetitions.  There  are  two  well-estab- 
lished laws  of  human  nature,  which  we  will  need  to  keep  in 
mind  in  planning  an  advertising  campaign.  One  of  these 
states  that  attention  and  interest  cannot  be  maintained,  ex- 
cept momentarily,  in  a  stimulus  which  remains  absolutely 
the  same ;  there  must  be  something  new  and  changing  about 
it.  The  other  states  that  attention  and  interest  cannot  be 
maintained  in  a  stimulus  which  is  absolutely  without  mean- 
ing. The  effect  of  the  former  law  has  been  discussed  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter  under  the  principle  of  contrast  or  novelty. 
The  latter  remains  for  present  consideration.  We  can,  of 
course,  voluntarily  force  our  attention  for  a  brief  period  of 
time  to  almost  any  stimulus  or  situation,  but  such  attention 
cannot  be  continued  very  long,  unless  this  object  reveals  some 
significance  or  suggests  some  new  interest.  In  other  words, 
while  there  is  a  law  of  novelty,  there  is  also  a. law  of  repeti- 
tion or  familiarity.  That  is  to  say,  our  continued  interest  in 
an  object  depends,  among  other  factors,  upon  our  familiarity 
and  associations  with  that  object,  and  these  in  turn  depend 
upon  repeated  contact  with  that  object  or  situation. 

If  you  glance  at  a  page  of  Chinese  print  you  may  be  inter- 
ested for  the  moment  in  the  odd  appearance  of  the  characters, 
but  your  attention  will  soon  lag,  because  these  characters 
have  no  meaning  for  you,  and  so  no  permanent  interest.  If, 
however,  you  should  find  an  English  paragraph  amidst  this 
Chinese  jargon,  you  would  be  quite  apt  to  have  sufficient  in- 
terest to  read  it.  The  fact  of  familiarity  calls  up  associations 
and  connections  which  arouse  a  warmth  of  interest  that  is 
impossible  with  the  unfamiliar. 

In  advertising,  the  practical  aspect  of  this  problem  pre- 
sents itself  in  the  form  of  repetition,  in  the  continued  and 

171 


172  ADVEBTISING 

persistent  presentation  of  an  advertisement  to  the  attention 
of  the  people. 

Oft-repeated  advertisements,  such  as  those  of  Cream  of 
Wheat,  or  of  Ivory  Soap,  almost  become  friends  which  many- 
readers  like  to  see.  You  may  never  have  paid  much  attention 
to  advertisements  of  fireless  cookers,  but  if  one  of  your  friends 
has  bought  one  and  has  shown  it  to  you,  you  notice  subse- 
quently all  advertisements  of  fireless  cookers.  Your  familiar- 
ity stimulates  new  interest. 

Problems  of  Repetition.  Now  what  are  the  main  prob- 
lems concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  practical  advertiser 
encounters  the  factor  of  repetition? 

There  is  the  large  and  far-reaching  question  as  to  the 
cumulative  effect  of  successive  advertisements  of  a  given 
article,  appearing  at  regular  intervals.  This  question  splits 
itself  further  into  two  subordinate  questions,  namely:  (a) 
What  is  the  optimal,  that  is,  the  most  efficient,  frequency  of 
running  the  different  advertisements  for  a  given  commodity 
in  a  given  medium?  That  is,  is  it  best  to  run  a  full  page 
once  in  two  months,  or  once  a  month,  or  once  a  week,  or,  in 
case  of  newspapers,  daily,  or  every  other  day?  (b)  Is  there 
any  advantage  commensurate  with  the  cost  in  inserting  an 
advertisement  simultaneously  in  several  mediums  which  reach 
the  same  readers  ?  That  is,  is  it  worth  while  to  insert  an  ad- 
vertisement in  one,  or  in  two,  or  in  all  the  newspapers  of  a 
city,  if  these  papers  are  read  by  the  same  class  of  persons? 
Would  this  simultaneous  repetition  be  a  practical  advantage 
or  not  ? 

Some  advertisers  of  considerable  experience  question 
whether  there  is  any  such  thing  as  cumulative  effect.  Men  of 
this  opinion  regard  cumulative  effect  as  a  thing  which  does 
not  exist.  Nevertheless,  the  fact  that  there  is  a  gradually 
increasing  momentum  derived  from  the  continued  advertising 
of  a  firm  or  article  is  quite  abundantly  demonstrated  by 
modern  advertising.  The  opposition  to  this  idea  is  usually 
led  by  men  whose  business  is  of  such  a  nature  that  cumulative 
results  are  either  precluded  or  very  insignificant.    As  proof 


BEPETITION  AND  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT 


173 


of  repetition-value,  recall,  for  example,  the  tremendous  values 
placed  upon  "good  will"  and  upon  trade  names  and  trade- 
marks. These  values  depend  almost  solely  upon  cumulative 
effects. 

The  Argument  of  Mr.  Shryer.  It  is  true  that  Mr. 
Shryer,^  in  his  compilation  of  advertising  returns,  gives  fig- 
ures which  apparently  deny  any  value  in  repetition.  He 
quotes  the  carefully  keyed  returns  of  a  subscription  campaign 
conducted  by  a  popular  magazine.  The  campaign  extended 
over  a  considerable  time  and  involved  a  large  number  of 
mediums,  both  magazines  and  newspapers.    Quoting  (p.  84)  : 


Figure  61 


Curve  showing  the  average  returns  during  four  years  of  adver- 
tising in  four  mediums — Everybody's,  System,  Collier's  Weekly, 
and  the  Literary  Digest.  Based  on  Shryer,  Analytical  Adver- 
tising, Table  p.  98.  The  divisions  along  the  base  line  from  left 
to  right  indicate  successive  periods  of  about  five  months  each. 
The  divisions  along  the  vertical  line  represent  so  many  dollars' 
worth  of  business  brought  by  each  insertion 

An  analysis  of  these  actual  results  in  securing  magazine  subscrip- 
tions develops  many  interesting,  features.  I  will  point  out  several  that 
are  particularly  illuminating  in  reference  to  the  cumulative  value  super- 
stition. The  average  cost  per  subscriber  from  the  entire  campaign  is 
$1.10;  $3147.94  in  advertising  resulted  in  2855  subscribers,  at  $1  each. 
The  average  cost  per  subscriber,  from  the  first  insertion  of  these  adver- 
tisements, is  85  cents.  This  includes  a  count  of  the  publications  used 
only  once.  The  total  amount  spent  in  one  time  insertions  and  in  the  first 
insertions  of  those  used  more  than  once  was  $1870.19,  which  resulted  in 
2196  subscribers.  The  average  cost  per  subscriber,  on  the  subsequent 
insertions,  is  $1.91.  "Cumulative  value"  raised  the  cost  from  85  cents 
to  $1.91.  The  "magic  third"  insertion  was  tried  but  twice.  In  the 
first  case  it  raised  the  average  cost  in  that  medium  from  35  cents  to 
$3.60,  over  ten  times  the  cost.  In  the  second  case,  it  raised  the  average 
cost  from  52  cents  to  $24.75,  an  increase  of  over  47  times. 

1.  Analytical  Advettiaing. 


174  ADVERTISING 

Shryer  further  presents  (p.  97)  an  excellent  compilation 
of  the  returns  of  the  campaign  for  the  American  Collection 
Service,  which  ran  for  about  four  years,  from  1907  to  1911, 
using  considerably  over  a  dozen  mediums.  By  an  elaborate 
keying  system  he  was  able  to  record  very  accurately  the 
returns  brought  by  every  advertisement.  Shryer  argues  that 
if  there  were  accumulative  effect  the  successive  insertions  in 
the  same  mediums  ought  to  bring  more  and  more  returns. 
Without  giving  his  data  in  detail,  the  author  prepared  a  curve 
which  exhibits  the  returns  for  four  of  the  consistently  used 
mediums.  The  chart  is  so  constructed  that  it  shows  the 
average  cash  business  brought  per  insertion  during  successive 
periods  of  six  months. 

This  curve  shows,  as  do  the  data  in  toto,  that  there  was  no 
increase  in  the  cash  returns  as  advertising  went  on.  There 
are  fluctuations  in  the  returns,  but  the  average  curve  remains 
on  the  same  level  all  the  way  across  the  chart.  Shryer  regards 
these  figures  as  fully  disproving  the  notion  of  cumulative 
value.  They  do  demonstrate  this  point  so  far  as  this  particu- 
lar business  is  concerned,  but  it  would  be  carrying  the  con- 
clusion too  far,  to  apply  it  to  all  forms  of  advertising. 

There  are  several  factors  that  must  be  considered.  In  the 
first  place,  these  data  are  all  derived  from  mail  order  adver- 
tising and  a  large  share  from  classified  advertising.  In  condi- 
tions of  attention  and  in  the  nature  of  the  appeal,  classified 
advertising  differs  widely  from  display  advertising.  In  the 
second  place,  the  number  of  readers  of  any  one  medium  who 
are  likely  to  be  interested  in  a  correspondence  course  of  this 
kind  offered  by  the  American  Collection  Service  is  certain 
to  be  rather  limited  and  is  found  early,  so  that  the  possi- 
bilities are  exhausted  in  a  relatively  short  period  of  time. 
In  tlie  third  place,  both  the  subscription  campaign  and  the 
correspondence  course  campaign  deal  with  commodities 
which  are  purchased  only  the  one  time.  They  are  not 
commodities  such  as  foods,  wearing  apparel,  and  the  like, 
which  are  purchased  continuously.  The  nature  of  the  adver- 
tising campaigns,  therefore,  is  such  that  there  can  be  little  or 


BEPETITION  AND  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT 


175 


no  cumulative  effect,  for  there  is  nothing  on  which  there 
could  be  any  accumulation.^ 

Shryer  has  also  tabulated  some  results  of  successive  follow- 
up  letters  sent  out  in  connection  with  the  campaign  of  the 
American  Collection  Service.^ 


■    Order  op 
Lftters 

Number 
Mailed 

Number 
OF  Sales 

Amount 
Cash 

Percentage* 

First 

Second 

Third 

28,576 
27,623 
27,202 
26,966 
21,962 
12,101 
10,140 
8558 
1205 

368 

443 
303 
288 
233 
161 
137 
38 
4 

$7844 
8882 
5736 
5166 
3512 
2282 
2109 
460 
57 

.012 
.015 
.011 

Fourth 

.0106 

Fifth 

.0106 

Sixth 

.018 

Seventh 

.013 

Eighth 

Ninth 

.0046 
.0033 

The  tabulation  continues  to  the  twenty-first  letter,  where  the  returns 
decrease  to  practically  nothing. 

A  similar  record  of  returns  was  kept  for  the  follow-up  let- 
ters sent  out  in  connection  with  a  campaign  for  a  kitchen 
device. 


Order  of 
Letters 

Number 
Mailed 

Number 
OF  Sales 

Amount 
Cash 

Percentage* 

First 

4109 
4821 
5700 
9577 
7286 
8051 
3127 
823 

166 

83 
78 
145 
66 
71 

7    " 

7 

$2522.35 

1209.80 

1188.76 

2283.44 

1005.25 

978.10 

102.50 

85.00 

.04 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

.017 
.013 
.015    . 
.009 

Sixth 

.008 

Seventh 

.003 

Eighth 

.008 

It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out  the  decreasing  returns  due  to  repeated 
appeals.  The  same  tendency  of  any  series  of  appeals  proves  the  fallacy 
of  the  theory  that  repeated  stimuli  cause  a  final  surrender  of  the  indi- 

1.  The  author's  only  criticism  of  Shryer's  report  concerns  his  conclusion 
as  to  advertising  In  general.  In  other  respects,  his  tabulation  Is  a  model  and 
should  be  followed  by  similar  reports  from  other  forms  of  business. 

2.  Analytical  Advertising,  pp.  221-222. 

.S.  Percentage  of  the  number  of  sales  out  of  the  number  to  whom  letters 
were  mailed. 


176  ADVERTISING 

vidual.  Some  are  prone  to  be  influenced  by  repeated  appeals.  Other- 
wise, it  would  not  pay  to  appeal  more  than  onoe  to  any  one.  The  point 
of  the  matter  is  this:  The  strongest  appeal  is  the  first,  other  things 
being  equal.  As  appeals  are  repeated,  fewer  and  fewer  respond.  This 
certainly  is  a  law.  If  it  is  a  law,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  cumulative 
value  in  publications.! 

In  the  opinion  of  the  author,  quite  the  opposite  inference 
may  be  drawn  from  these  tables.  They  do  not  disprove  cumu- 
lative value  even  in  these  follow-up  letters  themselves.  Of 
course,  it  is  obvious  that  the  percentage  of  returns  gradually 
decreases.  That  is  necessarily  to  be  expected,  because  the 
possibilities  are  gradually  being  exhausted.  The  very  fact 
that  succeeding  letters  brought  any  returns  at  all  shows  that 
repeated  stimuli  had  an  effect,  otherwise  all  those  who  would 
be  influenced  to  respond  should  have  responded  to  the  very 
first  letter. 

Cashing  In  on  Cumulative  Effect.  There  are  numerous 
advertising  campaigns  in  which  the  accumulation  of  suc- 
cessive impressions  plays  an  important  role.  The  following 
account  is  a  striking  illustration : 

In  every  business  there  are  numbers  of  prospects  of  the  "almost 
persuaded"  variety  —  those  who  have  been  interested  in  the  goods,  per- 
haps to  the  extent  of  sending  in  an  inquiry,  perhaps  even  to  the  point 
of  talking  the  subject  over  with  a  salesman,  but  who,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  have  never  actually  given  an  order.  In  many  cases  this  show  of 
interest  took  place  at  some  time  in  the  past,  yet  those  prospects  can  never 
be  put  in  exactly  the  same  class  as  those  who  have  never  shown  interest. 
Their  attitude  toward  the  goods  has  been  determined  as  more  or  less 
favorable,  and  in  a  sense  represented  good-will  which  has  not  been 
realized.  Every  business  man  knows  them,  and  practically  every  advertis- 
ing man  has  faced  the  problem  of  turning  them  into  buyers  of  his  goods. 

The  reasons  why  the  "almost  persuaded"  failed  to  respond  with 
the  cash  may  be  very  different;  in  fact,  no  two  of  them  may  precisely 
have  the  same  reason ;  yet  a  little  change  in  the  selling  plan  may  serve 
to  bring  them  over  in  such  numbers  as  to  turn  a  positive  loss  into  a 
substantial  profit. 

The  Review  of  Reviews  Company  of  New  York  had  been  advertising 
the  Photographic  History  of  the  Civil  War  for  a  year  when  they  discov- 

1.  Analytical  Advertising,  p.  222. 


REPETITION  AND  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT  I77 

ered  that  the  selling  cost  was  just  about  equal  to  the  average  selling  price. 
The  magazine  and  newspaper  advertising  was  bringing  in  thousands  of 
coupon  inquiries,  but  the  sales  were  not  being  ' '  closed ' '  in  profitable 
volume. 

That  was  a  state  of  affairs  just  the  opposite  from  what  had  been 
predicted.  A  "find"  of  a  set  of  photographs  of  such  a  momentous  bit 
of  history  as  our  own  Civil  War  was  so  unusual  and  striking  that  it 
should  have  aroused  instant  attention.  Nothing  was  left  undone,  appar- 
ently. The  advertising  began  the  moment  the  last  pictures  were  dis- 
covered, before  even  the  books  were  completed,  and  continued  without 
a  break  for  more  than  a  year. 

The  man  in  charge  of  the  campaign  was  an  old  hand  at  the  business 
of  selling  books  by  mail,  and  had  laid  out  a  schedule  of  the  approximate 
results  which  should  be  forthcoming  from  the  advertising,  month  by 
month.  He  realized  that  it  takes  time  to  cash  in  on  inquiries  by  the 
follow-up  method,  and  that  a  great  many  people  won't  send  in  a  coupon 
until  they  have  seen  the  goods  advertised  time  after  time.  He  was  de- 
pending upon  the  cumulative  effect  of  the  advertising  to  offset  the  appar- 
ent loss  of  the  first  few  months,  and  departed  on  an  outing  in  Florida 
without  much  fear  for  the  results. 

When  he  got  back,  however,  the  only  thing  which  had  materialized 
was  a  selling  cost  of  thirty  dollars  a  set,  which  was  the  total  price  paid  by 
the  consumer.  He  would  be  putting  a  pretty  big  burden  upon  cumulative 
effect  to  expect  to  offset  this  condition  by  the  end  of  April,  which  was  the 
time  scheduled  for  the  end  of  the  sale. 

There  was  nothing  serious  the  matter  with  the  copy,  for  inquiries 
were  coming  in  steadily.  The  follow-up  was  complete  and  elaborate, 
and  was  being  sent  out  promptly.  But  something  manifestly  was  wrong, 
for  the  number  of  those  who  had  sent  in  coupons  but  hadn  't  ordered  the 
books  was  increasing  at  a  stupendous  rate. 

Since  the  magazine  copy  seemed  to  be  above  reproach,  the  trouble 
must  be  in  the  follow-up,  and  a  careful  analysis  located  it.  The  follow-up 
was  interesting,  it  was  artistic,  it  was  well  written;  but  it  failed  to  give 
the  inquirer  an  adequate  impression  of  the  size  and  comprehensiveness 
of  the  edition.  It  stimulated  desire  for  the  books,  but  not  to  the  extent 
of  thirty  dollars'  worth.  And  it  was  instantly  recognized  that  the  only 
way  to  cash  in  on  cumulative  effect  was  to  give  the  people  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  books  themselves,  since  in  this  way  only  could  they  be 
convinced  of  the  full  value  of  the  goods. 

The  entire  edition  was  turned  over  in  November  to  John  Wanamaker, 
and  the  advertising  continued  under  the  name  of  the  New  Wanamaker 
Book  Club.  The  books  were  conspicuously  displayed  in  the  store,  and  an 
easy  payment  plan  of  purchase  was  inaugurated.  The  results  were  im- 
mediately apparent,  and  the  profits  arrived  on  schedule.  During  the 
first  twenty  days  of  April,  the  sales  aggregated  five-elevenths  of  the  total 


178  ADVEBTISING 

sales  during  the  entire  campaign.  In  other  words,  out  of  a  total  sale 
of  some  forty  thousand  sets,  nearly  half  were  sold  during  the  last  twenty 
days. 

Of  course,  there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  the  results  would  not  have 
come  if  the  course  originally  followed  had  been  adhered  to,  but  the 
probabilities  are  strongly  against  it. 

What  made  the  difference  between  success  and  failure  was  the  dis- 
position to  find  out  what  the  matter  really  was.i 

Frequency  of  Insertion.  With  regard  to  the  other  prob- 
lem concerning  the  frequency  of  running  advertisements  for 
a  given  commodity,  there  is  little  definite  information  at  hand. 
It  depends  upon  the  commodity  itself,  whether  it  is  a  season- 
able article  or  in  demand  at  all  times  of  the  j^ear.  Articles  in 
continuous  use,  such  as  foods,  toilet  articles,  and  clothing, 
are,  as  a  rule,  advertised  by  one  insertion  every  month.  For 
example,  Ivory  Soap  usually  has  one  insertion  a  month  in 
the  regular  monthly  magazines,  and  usually  not  more  than 
one  a  month  even  in  mediums  like  the  Saturday  Evening  Post, 
which  appear  weekly.  It  would  be  a  very  useful  investigation 
to  find  out  what  the  optimal  frequency  of  insertion  is  for 
various  conditions  and  commodities;  that  is,  what  frequency 
would  yield  the  greatest  results  for  the  money  expended. 

Repetition  of  * '  Characters. ' '  Another  phase  of  this  prob- 
lem relates  to  the  repetition,  in  all  the  advertisements  of  a 
given  commodity,  of  parts  or  features  such  as  "characters," 
special  kinds  of  type,  or  uniformity  in  the  general  layout. 
A  comparison  of  the  advertisements  of  130  national  adver- 
tisers showed  that : 

10%  used  characters. 

20%  had  general  uniformity  in  the  layouts. 
25%  used  one  kind  of  type. 
4%  used  their  trade-marks  conspicuously. 
41%  had  no  repeated  features. 

The  psychological  value  of  the  repeated  feature  is  that  it 
assists  in  the  identification  of  the  advertisement  and  therefore 
establishes  a  continuity  of  association  among  all  advertise- 
ments of  a  given  commodity.    At  the  same  time  the  rest  of 

1.  Printers  Ink,  July  11,  1912,  p.  40. 


BEPETITION  AND  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT  179 

the  advertisement  permits  of  novel  features.  In  other  words, 
a  repeated  feature  wisely  used,  combines  in  the  right  propor- 
tions the  elements  of  familiarity  and  novelty. 

Besides  familiarity,  the  particular  advantage  of  well- 
chosen  characters,  such  as  the  chef  in  the  Cream  of  "Wheat 
advertisement,  is  the  element  of  human  personality.  We 
learn  to  regard  them  as  persons,  like  characters  in  fiction, 
whose  statements  and  actions  have  a  more  personal  interest 
than  abstract  statement  has.  Advertising  has  created  many 
famous  characters  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  some  of 
which  are  as  widely  known  as  famous  characters  in  fiction. 
The  ''Gold  Dust  Twins"  have  been  used  since  1883.  Other 
well-known  characters  are  the  chef,  the  Fairy  Soap  girl,  the 
Dutch  Boy  painter,  the  Gold  Medal  flour  girl,  the  Quaker 
Oats  man,  etc. 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  the  features  that  occur  repeatedly  in  successive  adver- 
tisements of  Gold  Medal  Flour,  Kellogg 's  Corn  Flakes,  Spearmint,  and 
Ivory  Soap?    What  are  the  advantages  of  such  repeated  features? 

2.  What  are  the  advantages  of,  and  objections  to,  using  the  same 
advertisement  of  a  given  article  in  all  mediums  used?  According  to  your 
observations,  what  is  the  common  practice?     Mention  examples. 

3.  Analyze  and  enumerate  the  various  factors  that  enter  into  the 
frequency  of  inserting  advertisements. 

4.  What  is  the  practice  among  advertisers  with  regard  to  the  num- 
ber of  newspapers  used  simultaneously  in  a  given  city?  For  example,  is 
it  customary  for  large  department  stores  to  use  several  daily  papers  at 
the  same  time  for  similar  advertisements?  What  is  the  practice  in  adver- 
tising a  single  commodity,  such  as  household  articles,  with  regard  to 
using  one  or  several  papers  simultaneously  in  the  same  city? 


CHAPTER  XVII 
TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITYi 

A  notable  advertising  expert  stated  recently  that  an  adver- 
tisement which  looks  easy  to  read  is  read  twice  as  often  as 
one  that  looks  hard  to  read.  Notice  the  difference  in  the 
illustrations  in  Figures  62  and  63.  No  observing  person 
would  question  that  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  legibility 
of  different  advertisements.     That  an  advertisement  should 


=^^ 


IHPkOVtSf>4K  CtRCULATl 
VUrVM  THE  etIEATUINC  fWARMiiTHE  EKTRUITieS, 

»teltumTiitnuiinAami}iTui/entirs  wam  ontAiit. 

•DIETS  MEKV^VSmllT/UlMTyjIMKASISTMaUUlitlAUTIC. 


'^*^^fe^. 


njuu  cut.  M  iMKB  n*  ciKtruAM. 


The  Most  Magnificent  Hotel  in  the  South 

EUROPEAN  PLAN  EXCLUSIVELY 

Rooms  single  and  en  suite,  with  and  with- 
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The  historical  points  of  interest  in  and 
around  Richmond  make  the  city  a  desir- 
able stop-over  place  for  tourists. 

For  booklets  and  reservations,  address 

P.  M.  FRY,  Manager. 


Figure  62 


Figure  63 


be  easy  to  read  and  inviting  to  the  eye  is  not  only  desirable, 
but  altogether  imperative. 

Four  Main  Factors.    What  makes  one  advertisement  easy 
to  read  and  another  difficult  to  read?     There  are  four  main 

1.  Much  of  this  chapter  appeared  in  an  article  by  the  author  in  Judicious 
Advertising,  August,   1911.     Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 

180 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  Igl 

factors  which  affect  the  legibility  of  print:  (a)  The  type; 
(b)  the  length  of  the  lines  in  print;  (c)  the  distribution  of 
the  lines,  words,  and  letters;  (d)  the  background  upon  which 
the  text  is  printed. 

Readableness  as  distinguished  from  legibility  depends  upon 
certain  additional  factors  which  combine  to  arouse  the  reader 's 
interest,  such  as  the  wording,  the  illustration,  the  article 
advertised,  etc.  But  we  shall  leave  these  matters  aside  for 
the  present  and  consider  only  the  legibility  of  print. 

The  Type.  The  two  principal  characteristics  of  type 
which  affect  its  legibility  are  the  style  and  the  size. 

(a)  The  Style  or  Face  of  the  Type}  Experiment  as  well 
as  experience  has  shown  that  there  is  a  tremendous  difference 
in  the  facility  with  which  different  type  faces  may  be  read. 


KNOX 

HATS 


Figure  64 


FiGUBE   65 

A  glance  at  the  illustrations  in  Figures  64  and  65  will  readily 
demonstrate  this  difference. 

In  order  to  compare  the  legibility  of  italic  and  roman  type, 
the  author  obtained  two  pieces  of  text,  alike  in  all  respects 
except  that  one  was  set  up  in  italics  and  the  other  in  roman. 

1.  See  Appendix  for  names  and  illustrations  of  the  most  common  type 
faces  in  use. 


182  ADVERTISING 

The  test  was  made  with  forty  persons  by  asking  each  one 
to  read  both  pieces  of  text  at  the  rate  at  which  he  would  nat- 
urally read.  The  time  taken  by  each  person  for  reading  these 
two  kinds  of  print  was  accurately  measured  by  a  stop  watch. 
The  test  showed  that  the  italic  text  was  not  read  as  rapidly  as 
the  roman  text. 

Capitals  are  more  difficult  to  read  than  lower  case  letters. 
They  are  stiff,  and  have  more  angles  and  fewer  curves.  They 
are  also  less  common,  so  that  the  eye  is  not  so  fully  accustomed 
to  them. 

A  test  like  the  one  just  referred  to  made  with  forty  persons 
showed  an  average  reading  rate  of  5.01  words  per  second  for 
the  lower  case  type,  but  only  4.55  words  per  second  for  the 
capitals.  This  is  a  difference  of  ten  percent  in  favor  of  the 
lower  case  text. 

Miss  Roethlein^  made  an  elaborate  series  of  experiments  for 
the  purpose  of  measuring  the  relative  legibility  of  different 
faces  of  types.  Her  method  was  to  measure  the  distance  at 
which  the  different  type  faces  could  be  recognized.  This 
method  is  open  to  considerable  criticism  because  the  distance 
at  which  letters  can  be  recognized  depends  so  largely  upon  the 
size  and  heaviness  of  the  parts  of  the  letters.  Her  results, 
however,  are  set  forth  in  the  follomng  table,  in  which  the 
reading  distance,  for  lower  case  letters  in  groups,  is  expressed 
in  centimeters.  Hence,  the  larger  the  number,  the  greater  was 
the  legibility. 

News   Gothic 166  Scotch  Roman 151 

Gushing  O,  S 163  Bulfinch    150 

Century  O.  S 162  Caslon    149 

Century  Expanded 159  Gushing  Monotone 144 

Cheltenham  Wide 159 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  certain  faces  are  more 
legible  than  others.  Condensed  and  expanded  faces  are 
harder  to  read  than  the  ordinary  widths  of  type,  especially  if 
used  in  large  quantities  with  little  space  between  the  words 
and  lines.    Expanded  faces,  however,  are  good  for  street  car 

1.  These  experiments  were  made  at  Clark  University. 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY 


183 


cards  because  of  the  oblique  angle  from  which  they  are  gen- 
erally seen. 

A  type  face  constructed  on  plain,  simple  lines  with  rela- 
tively few  angles  and  corners  is  read  most  easily.  The  old 
Roman  type  face,  or  some  closely  related  face,  comes  nearest 
to  these  requirements,  and  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the 
most  legible  type  face.  It  is  claimed  that  the  angular  and  dif- 
ficult character  of  the  German  print  is,  in  part,  responsible 
for  the  prevalence  of  visual  defects  among  the  school  children 
of  Germany. 


r^ 


\^t)OLENS 


FLANNE13.YARNS 
WORSTEDS,  and  all 
materials  containing 
ANIMAL  WOOL 
must  be  carefully 
washed  to  keep  them 
SOFT  6c  PREVENT 
SHRINKING.  Don't 
send  them  to  the 
cleaners— but  use 


PEARLINE 

MODERN  SOAP  . 


'%  i^ 


Directions 


"Wash  woolens  and 
flannels  by  hand  in 
luke-wartn 

PEARLINE 

suds;  rinse  thoroughly 
in  WARM  water; 
wring  dr>';  pull  and 
shake  well,  and  they 
will  keep  soft  with- 
out shrinking. 


DRY    IN    WARM 

Item  PER  ATURE" 


learlme  Keeps  Woolens  Soft 


Fig  CUE  66 

Fancy  and  unusual  types  are  difficult  to  read.  They  con- 
tain too  many  nooks  and  corners,  too  many  angles  and  curly- 
cues.  As  a  general  rule,  fancy  type  should  be  avoided  unless 
there  are  good  reasons  for  using  it.  In  such  cases  the  advan- 
tages may  outweigh  the  disadvantages.  In  some  instances, 
fancy  type  adds  greatly  to  the  artistic  appearance  of  an 
advertisement,  if  it  is  appropriate  and  in  harmony  with  the 
commodity  advertised.    Or,  it  may  be  desirable  to  use  artistic 


184 


ADVERTISING 


or  unique  type  as  a  heading  or  name,  which,  when  used  con- 
tinuously in  advertisements  of  the  same  article,  becomes  a 
mark  of  recognition  very  similar  to  the  use  of  a  character, 
such  as  the  Cream  of  "Wheat  chef,  or  the  Gold  Dust  Twins. 

Pearline  Individuality.  An  illustration  in  point  is  the 
type  used  in  the  Pearline  advertisements.  See  Figure  66. 
The  same  kind  of  type  and  background  has  been  used  for 
such  a  long  time  in  the  advertisement  of  this  product  that 
it  has  acquired  considerable  accumulative  value.     Because 


DO  YOU  KNOW 

THE  FOOD  VALUE  OF 

PEANUT  BUTTER 

Do  you  appreciate  what  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  food 
Peanut  Butter  is?  Do  you  realize  how  many  ways  it  Mn 
be  used  to  give  variety  to  the  home  menu? 
PEANUT  BUTTER  CONTAINS  MORE  FOOD 
VALUE  THAN  THE  BEST  ROAST  BEEF 
and  is  a  thorouth  delight  to  the  taste  when  used  for  sand- 
wiches and  luncheon  dishes. 

HEINZ  PEANUT  BUTTER 

will  give  you  a  new  idea  of  how  good  Peanut  Butter  can  be. 
It  is  smooth,  rich  and  appetizing  with  all  the  flavor  of  fresh 
roasted  nuts.  Like  all  the  57  varieties.  Heinz  Peanut 
Butter  is  made  in  clean  surroundings,  by  accurate  methods. 
ONLY  THE  FINEST  SELECTED 
PEANUTS  ARE.USED 
They  are  uniformly  roasted,  thoroug;hly  ground  and  salted 
in  eitact  proportion.  It  is  packed  in  jars  directly  from 
the  grifiocr,  preserving  its  fresh,  nutty  flavor  until  served 
osi  your  table. 

EACH  PACKAGE  OF  HEINZ  PEANUT 
BUTTER  IS  A  TRIAL  PACKAGE 
You  may  try  it  at  our  risk  and  your  grocer  will  return 
the  full  purchase  price  if  you  are  not  pleased.. 

H.  J.  HEINZ  COMPANY 


Do  You  Know  the 

Food  Value  of  Peanut  Butter 


Do  you  appreciate  what  a  wholesome  and  nu- 
tritious food  Peanut  Butter  is?  Do  you  realize 
how  many  ways  it  can  be  used  to  give  variety 
to  the  home  menu? 

■  Peanut  Butter  contains  more  food  value  than 
the  best  roast  beef,  and  is  a  thorough  delight  to 
the  taste  when  used  for  sandwiches  and  lunch- 
eon  dishes. 

Heinz  Peanut  Butter  wilt  give  you  a  new  idea 
of  how  good  Peanut  Buncr  can  be.  It  is  smooth, 
rich  and  appetizing  with  all  the  flavor  of  fresh 
roasted  nuts.  Like  all  the  57  varieties,  Heinz 
Peanut  Butter  is  made  in  clean  surroundings, 
by  accurate  methods.  Only  the  finest  selected 
peanuts  are  used.  They  are  uniformly  roasted, 
thoroughly  ground  and  salted  ii%exaci  propor- 
tion, ft  is  packed  in  jars  directly  from  the 
grinder,  preserving  its  fresh,  nutty  Oavor  until 
served  on  your  table. 

Each  package  of  Heinz  Peanut  Butter  is  a  trial 
package.  You  may  try  it  at  our  risk  and  vour 
grocer  will  return  the  full  purchase  price  if  you 
are  not  pleased. 


Figure  68 

A   rearrangement   of    Figure   67 

so  as  to  eliminate  the  excessive 

use  of  capitals 


Figure  67 

Headings  set  up  in  capitals  are 

not     as     legible     as     headings 

printed    in     lower     case     letters 

See  Figure  68 

of  this  fact,  we  recognize  a  Pearline  advertisement  imme- 
diately without  even  reading  a  word  of  it. 

An  advertisement  whose  text  is  all  set  up  in  capitals  is  not 
read  with  as  great  facility,  and  is  more  apt  to  be  passed  over 
by  the  reader. 

Some  of  the  recent  advertisements  of  Tiffany  and  Com- 
pany were  printed  in  capitals,  and  so  presented  a  certain 
uniqueness,  because  text  in  lower  case  type  is  more  common. 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  lg5 

In  some  instances,  though  perhaps  rarely,  the  greater  strain 
in  reading  capitals  is  outweighed  by  this  contrast  effect. 

In  this  connection  it  is  also  an  interesting  fact  that  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century  there  has  been  a  marked  decrease 
in  the  use  of  ''all-capital"  headlines  in  advertisements. 

The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  of  fuU  page 
advertisements  in  which  the  headlines  were  set  up  entirely  in 
capitals.  It  is  based  on  the  advertising  section  of  the  Century 
Magazine. 

Percentage  of  All-Capital  Headunes 

1881 85  percent 

1890 69  percent 

1900 43  percent 

1910 43  percent 

Thus,  *' all-capital' '  headlines  are  now  only  about  one-half 
as  prevalent  as  formerly.  A  great  many  scientific  principles 
are  gradually  being  worked  out  as  the  standard  of  advertising 
and  the  training  of  advertising  men  rise. 

(b)  The  size  of  the  type,  of  course,  affects  the  legibility. 
Type  smaller  than  ten  point  becomes  increasingly  difficult  as 
it  decreases  in  size.  There  is  rarely  or  never  any  reasonable 
excuse  for  using  fine  print  in  the  body  text  of  a  large  adver- 
tisement. Of  course,  it  is  a  different  matter  with  the  very 
small  advertisement. 

If  one  turns  back  to  the  early  files  of  magazines,  one  is 
struck  with  the  large  number  of  advertisements  containing  a 
body  text  printed  in  type  as  small  as  five  and  six  point.  To 
show  this  fact  a  tabulation  was  made  to  show  the  percentage 
of  full-page  advertisements  (Century  Magazine)  with  the 
main  body  text  printed  in  8-point  type  or  smaller: 

1881 85  percent 

1890 38  percent 

1900 18  percent 

1910 5  percent 

Here  is  an  immense  drop  from  85  percent  to  5  percent  in 
thirty  years  —  an  eloquent  testimony  against  eye-straining 
type  in  advertisements. 


186  ADVERTISING 

Length  of  the  Line  of  Print.  On  theoretical  grounds  one 
might  reason  that  it  ought  to  make  no  difference  in  legibility 
whether  the  lines  are  long  or  short,  if  only  the  type  itself  is 
plain  and  sufficiently  large.  Experiments  and  even  casual 
observation  indicate,  however,  that  the  length  of  the  line  is  an 
important  factor.  A  line  five  or  six  inches  in  length  does  not 
look  as  inviting  to  the  eye  as  a  shorter  one.  It  seems  difficult ; 
it  looks  involved  and  tedious.  Of  course,  it  depends  also  upon 
the  size  of  type  used.  A  long  line  printed  in  large  type  is 
easier  to  read  than  the  same  line  in  smaller  type. 

In  order  to  determine  approximately  what  is  the  most  sat- 
isfactory length  of  line,  the  author  made  the  following  tests : 

Three  pieces  of  text  were  set  up  exactly  alike,  except  that 
they  differed  in  the  length  of  the  lines.  In  the  first  text  the 
lines  were  one  and  one-half  inches  long,  in  the  second  they 
were  two  and  three-quarters  inches  long,  and  in  the  third  they 
were  five  inches  long.  The  test  was  made  with  forty  persons 
individually  by  asking  each  one  to  read  each  piece  of  text  at 
his  natural  rate  of  reading.  The  time  taken  by  each  person 
for  each  piece  of  text  was  measured  with  a  stop  watch.  These 
persons,  of  course,  did  not  know  what  the  object  of  the  test 
was,  so  they  could  not  have  been  influenced  for  or  against  any 
one  text. 

The  outcome  is  set  forth  in  the  followi^g  table,  which  gives 
the  average  number  of  words  read  per  second  for  each  kind 
of  text : 

Length  of  line '. ly^  in.     2%  in.      5  in. 

Average  number  of  words  per  second 5.25        6.06        5.69 

The  two  and  three-fourths  inch  text  is  thus  read  sixteen 
percent  more  rapidly  than  the  one  and  one-half  inch  text,  and 
seven  percent  more  rapidly  than  the  five-inch  text.  There  is, 
consequently,  a  certain  optimum  length  of  line  somewhere  in 
the  neighborhood  of  three  inches. 

If  we  made  further  experiments  with  texts  graded  by 
small  steps,  from  two  and  one-half  inches  to  three  and  one- 
half  inches,  we  should  probably  find  that  there  is  very  little 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  187 

difference  within  these  limits.  A  very  short  line  is  hard  to 
read,  just  as  a  very  long  one  is  hard  to  read. 

Newspaper  and  magazine  columns  usually  fall  within  these 
limits.  The  average  newspaper  line  is  about  two  and  one- 
fourth  inches  and  the  average  magazine  line  about  two  and 
one-half  inches  long.  The  magazine  page  is,  for  convenience, 
split  into  two  columns.  Much  of  the  better  class  of  advertis- 
ing conforms  to  this  idea.  For  example,  the  booklets  sent  out 
in  recent  years  by  Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx  have  the  lines  of 
print  three  and  one-fourth  inches  in  length. 

The  chief  reasons  why  lines  of  moderate  length  are  more 
legible  than  very  long  or  very  short  lines  are  as  follows : 

(1)  Fewer  fixations  of  the  eye  are  required.  The  eyes,  in 
reading,  do  not  move  along  smoothly,  but  take  successive 
glimpses  at  intervals  of  three  to  five  words.  The  eyes  cannot 
see  distinctly  while  they  are  in  motion,  and  consequently  they 
make  successive  fixations  separated  by  short  intervals.  This 
fact  can  easily  be  observed  by  watching  in  a  mirror  the  eyes 
of  the  person  who  is  reading. 

(2)  In  lines  of  moderate  length  the  subject-matter  in 
adjoining  lines  is  more  closely  related  than  in  long  lines. 
Thus,  the  context  of  the  line  below  the  one  that  is  being  read 
is,  to  a  slight  extent,  apprehended.  This  facilitates  the 
reading. 

(3)  In  very  long  lines  it  is  more  difficult  for  the  eyes, 
when  shifting  from  the  right  end  to  the  left,  to  find  the  begin- 
ning  of  the  next  line. 

The  difficulty  of  long  lines,  in  large  space  advertisements 
in  which  much  text  is  used,  may  be  avoided  by  breaking  up 
the  text  into  short  paragraphs  and  into  columns  as  shown 
in  Figure  69. 

The  Distribution  of  Letters  and  Words.  Under  this  head 
we  should  include  the  problems  of  paragraphing,  spacing 
between  lines,  etc. 

The  main  criticism  to  be  noted  here,  however,  is  directed 
against  unusual  arrangements  and  distributions  of  letters  and 
words,  which  often  make  an  advertisement  nothing  short 


188 


ADVEBTISING 


of  an  optical  puzzle.    Notice,   for  example,   Figure   70  on 
page  189. 

Several  years  ago  a  "worst  ad  contest"  was  conducted  by 
Printer's  Ink,  for  which  contributors  sent  in  what  they  con- 


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Figure  69 

Showing  how  long  lines  may  be  avoided  by  setting  the  text 

up  in  two  columns 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY 


189 


sidered  the  worst  advertisement  which  had  come  under  their 
observation.  The  advertisement  which  won  the  prize  as  being 
the  poorest  one  out  of  the  large  number  submitted  had  a  very 
conspicuous  fault.  The  words  of  the  text  were  arranged  in 
step-ladder  fashion  from  the  bottom  up,  making  it  exceedingly 


i^c>     O 


%S7 


Figure  70 
A  puzzling  arrangement  of  the  text 

difficult  to  read.  That  was  not  the  only  criticism,  but  it  was 
a  very  important  one. 

The  Effect  of  Background.  The  background  also  aifects 
to  a  considerable  extent  the  legibility  of  the  text.  A  white 
background  with  black  type  is,  as  a  rule,  the  most  legible  com- 
bination. A  different  kind  of  background,  as,  for  example, 
black,  gray,  or  color,  has  the  advantage  of  being  conspicuous 
by  contrast,  but  it  has  the  disadvantage  of  reducing  facility 
in  reading.  No  doubt,  in  many  instances  the  added  uniqueness 
and  contrast  of  unusual  backgrounds  outweigh  the  reduced 
legibility.  In  such  cases  where  advantages  and  disadvantages 
are  balanced  against  each  other,  good  judgment  must  decide 
which  is  to  be  used.  But  it  is  a  very  important  matter  to 
know  what  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  are. 

In  an  experiment  similar  to  the  one  described,  forty  per- 


190  ADVERTISING 

sons  were  tested  for  the  purpose  of  determining  their  natural 
rate  of  reading —  (a)  white  type  on  a  dark  gray  background, 
and  (b)  black  type  on  a  white  background.  The  difference 
was  very  great.  The  average  number  of  words  read  per  sec- 
ond in  (a)  was  4.26,  whereas,  the  average  number  of  words 
read  per  second  in  (b)  was  6.06,  This  is  a  difference  of  42 
percent  in  favor  of  the  black  type  on  white  background. 

There  is  no  better  way  of  fixing  the  definite  responsibility  of  the 
layout  —  the  ad's  structure  —  in  helping  copy  produce  maximum  sales 
than  from  evidence  furnished  by  mail  order  campaigns. 

In  ads  that  send  prospective  buyers  to  the  dealer's  store  it  is,  of 
course,  next  to  impossible  to  determine  a  layout's  value,  because 
advertising  of  that  sort  is  not  usually  keyed. 

But  the  moral  behind  this  article  applies  with  even  greater  force  to 
the  latter  type  of  copy  than  it  does  to  mail  order  copy,  for  in  direct 
mail  order  advertising  results  are  easily  traceable. 

And  a  correct  copy  structure  has  been  proved  to  be  far  more  vital 
than  the  average  manufacturer  might  imagine. 

A  Middle  Western  manufacturer  several  years  ago  got  himself 
into  a  tight  place.  He  had  a  ten  dollar  article.  The  manufacturing 
cost  was  $2.50.  He  had  been  getting  inquiries  at  approximately  $1.50 
each.  As  he  sold  a  heavy  percentage  of  inquiries  —  for  he  had  an  excel- 
lent follow-up  selling  plan  —  he  secured  one  order  from  every  three 
inquiries.  That  made  selling  cost,  coimting  advertising  literature,  about 
$7.25.  Adding  to  this  his  overhead,  salaries  and  other  like  items  it 
brought  the  cost  of  getting  the  article  into  each  consumer's  hands 
almost  $7.75  each,  leaving  a  profit  on  each  article  of  about  $2.25.  Yet 
his  was  an  excellent  mail  order  business,  for  few  of  them  manage  to 
sell  more  than  fifteen  percent  of  their  inquiries. 

But  his  success  brought  two  competitors  into  the  field.  They  had 
good  copy,  and  from  the  instant  reduction  in  his  volume  of  inquiries,  he 
imagined  that  they  were  sharing  heavily  in  what  had  previously  been 
his  field  exclusively.  Their  article  presented  slight  advantages  that  his 
did  not. 

His  inquiry  cost  began  going  up.  From  $1.50  each,  replies  began  to 
cost  him  around  $2.  Then,  when  they  shot  above  that  mark,  he  became 
frightened,  for  inquiries  at  $2.25  meant  a  profitless  business  and  above 
that  amount  he  would  lose  money. 

He  finally  took  his  problem  to  efficient  advertising  counsel.  They 
surveyed  his  literature  without  comment.  He  told  them  it  was  necessary 
to  cut  inquiry  cost  or  he  would  have  to  go  out  of  business.  How  to  do  it 
was  a  puzzle  to  him. 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  191 

The  advertising  counsel  was  loath  to  change  copy  that  had  been 
possessed  of  known  productivity.  They  measured  up  the  copy  to  all 
standards  they  knew  and  finally  decided  that  that  was  not  the  way  out. 

One  bright  mind  criticized  the  layout  for  the  copy.  Then  came  a 
number  of  layout  suggestions  —  means  that  would  clarify  the  read- 
ability of  the  ad.  It  was  decided  to  allow  the  wording  of  the  ad  to 
stand  and  rehabilitate  the  copy's  structure. 

The  ad  had  a  border  that  overshadowed  the  headline.  .  This  was 
stripped  off  entirely.  Then  instead  of  the  hand-lettered  type  headline, 
Cheltenham  Bold  type  was  substituted.  The  headline  was  set  in 
"reverse"  —  white  letters  on  a  black  background  —  thus  giving  it  fifty 
percent  greater  attraction  power. 

The  ad  was  approximately  fifty  lines  by  two  columns.  The  first  line 
beneath  the  headline  was  6-point  lightface  and  two  columns  in  width. 
The  first  few  lines  of  the  ad  were  changed  to  8-point  blackface  —  to 
give  the  eye  an  easier  task  in  dropping  from  the  large  headline  to  the 
smaller  lightface  type  below.  It  was  decided  two-column  measure  was 
too  long  for  the  remaining  lines  of  6-point  type,  the  eye  having  reached 
the  end  of  the  line  had  diflficulty  finding  the  next  line  below,  thus,  in  a 
measure,  destroying  interest  —  it  was  hard  to  read.  The  side  borders  of 
the  ad  were  left  off  altogether  —  giving  the  type  more  room.  A  black 
bar,  that  balanced  the  black  background  at  the  top  of  the  ad,  was  placed 
at  the  bottom.  The  illustration  faced  outward.  The  experts  turned  it 
inward  —  so  it  faced  the  copy  —  and  induced  interest  in  that  direction. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  advertising  men  were  redress- 
ing an  ad  that  had  produced  returns,  and  they  were  fearful  lest  by  some 
miscue  they  might  injure  its  pulling  power. 

The  last  touch,  however,  was  to  place  a  black  circle  around  the  copy 
and  allow  the  illustration  to  break  into  the  circle.  This  was  just  below 
the  "reverse"  headline  and  the  black  background  at  the  top  of  the  ad 
was  flush  to  the  top  of  the  circle. 

They  took  the  copy  and  took  the  competitors'  advertising.  All 
three  were  pasted  upon  the  page  of  a  mail  order  paper,  for  the  purpose 
of  gauging  the  attention-value  of  each.  Not  a  word  of  the  copy  was 
changed. 

The  new  ad,  though  not  large,  absolutely  dominated  the  page. 

The  advertiser  was  a  trifle  skeptical  still,  so  he  utilized  the  new  copy 
in  a  few  mediums  only,  at  first. 

It  had  been  out  scarcely  a  day  when  he  felt  his  problem  had  been 
solved.  Inquiry  cost  instantly  dropped  two-thirds.  Where  he  had  been 
paying  between  $2  and  $2.10  for  replies,  at  that  time,  he  found  that 
he  was  now  buying  them  for  less  than  70  cents  each. 

He  was  amazed  at  the  increase  in  the  volume  of  inquiries  and  could 
scarcely  attribute  it  to  what  to  his  mind  was  trivial  —  the  layout.  In 
spite  of  this  attitude,  however,  he  immediately  substituted  the  new  ad 


192  ADVERTISING 

in  his  entire  list.  The  same  result  followed  from  every  mail  order  publi- 
cation he  was  using. 

It  was  little  short  of  a  miracle  to  him,  and  within  a  short  time  one 
competitor  dropped  out  of  sight  and  he  bought  out  the  one  who  managed 
to  hold  his  own  for  a  while. 

The  incident  demonstrated  absolutely  the  value  of  correct  layouts. 
I  have  seen  similar  cases,  but  never  before  one  that  so  vividly  portrayed 
the  necessity  of  giving  the  advertisement's  structure  thorough  study 
before  dismissing  the  building  of  the  layout,. 

The  layout  has  two  primary  functions:  Attraction-power  and  read- 
ability—  making  it  easy  to  read. 

In  giving  the  ad  power  to  attract  the  reader's  eye  as  the  line  of 
vision  enters  a  page  there  are  various  methods  of  achievement.  It  can 
be  done  with  extraordinarily  large  black  bars  at  the  top  and  bottom; 
with  a  heavy  black  border;  with  a  circle;  a  curve;  a^nything  that  will 
intercept  the  left -to-right  path  of  vision  and  carry  it  to  the  desired  point 
in  the  ad.  White  space  to  the  left  of  the  type  matter  has  the  same 
effect. 

Setting  the  headline  in  "reverse" — white  letters  on  a  black  back- 
ground—  has  fifty  percent  greater  power  to  attract  the  eye  than  plain 
black  type. 

Oftentimes  the  name  of  the  article  advertised  is  used  in  the  middle 
of  the  ad.  To  be  optically  correct  this  name,  if  set  in  heavy  black  type, 
should  be  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  the  length  of  the  ad  above  its  base. 

That  is,  in  a  100-line,  single  column  ad,  the  center  display  should  be 
twenty-five  to  thirty-three  lines  below  the  topmost  point  of  the  copy. 
Then,  if  the  ad  be  page  size,  it  is  directly  in  line  with  the  reader 's  natural 
line  of  vision.  Experts  have  determined  that  fact  by  experiment.  It  is 
due  to  the  way  the  average  reader  holds  a  magazine  or  newspaper. 

When  the  type  gets  down  to  6-point  it  becomes  hard  to  read  if  the 
lines  are  five  or  six  inches  in  length.  The  type  columns  should  then  be 
* '  doubled-up  "  —  two  columns  of  type  instead  of  one  —  thus  shortening 
the  distance  the  eye  must  travel  on  one  plane.    This  makes  reading  easy. 

If  the  headline  is  set  in  plain  type,  then  it  should  be  surrounded  with 
one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  of  white  space,  governed,  of  course,  by  the 
ad's  size,  to  allow  it  to  stick  out  from  the  surrounding  type  matter. 

A  line  or  bar  in  an  ad  that  intercepts  the  line  of  vision  is  always 
capable  of  getting  attention.  A  diagonal  line  across  the  side  of  a  lay- 
out will  invariably  arrest  the  eye  and  carry  it  to  the  point  desired. 

In  this  class  is  the  copy  that  ran  last  winter,  I  believe,  in  the  resort 
classified  sections  of  certain  magazines  and  weeklies.  It  had  a  crayon 
check  mark  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  copy.  The  upward  stroke  of  the 
check  mark  was  diagonal,  and  it  stuck  out  from  the  entire  page  of  classi- 
fied advertisements  to  the  extent  that  it  was  the  first  apparent  point  of 
interest  to  the  man  who  turned  to  that  page.  The  writer  understands  that 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  193 

this  insignificant  five  or  six-line  classified  ad  produced  abnormal  returns, 
due  simply  to  the  bit  of  strategy  in  laying  out  the  copy. 

A  circle  surrounding  the  type  of  an  advertisement,  with  the  headline 
at  the  top  of  the  circle  and  breaking  into  it,  is  another  attraction-power 
that  has  been  used  with  good  returns  in  various  types  of  copy. 

The  arrow  waS"  a  magnet  that  in  the  past  few  years  has  worked 
overtime. 

In  constructing  the  layout  for  an  advertisement  that  occupies  from 
three-fourths  of  a  page  to  a  full  page  there  is,  of  course,  no  especial 
necessity  of  attracting  the  eye;  that  is  achieved  by  the  fact  that  the 
eye  has  to  pass  over  the  advertisement  in  reaching  the  next  page.  Its 
size  guarantees  it  a  reading  if  there  is  sufficient  force  in  the  copy. 

The  illustration  can  be  made  to  induce  interest  in  the  copy.  Most 
illustrations  are  placed  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  ad,  or  in  the  middle. 
By  turning  the  illustration  so  that  it  faces  the  type  matter,  if  it  is  on 
the  left  or  right-hand  side,  the  eye  is  made  to  travel  toward  the  type. 

The  average  copywriter  can  intuitively  tell  whether  an  advertisement 
is  easy  to  read;  whether  the  headline  type  is  too  strong  for  the  illustra- 
tion ;  whether  the  body  type  lines  are  too  long ;  whether  there  is  too  much 
or  too  little  white  space;  whether  the  ad  dominates  the  page  it  is  on. 

One  plan  that  gives  at  a  glance  the  verdict  as  to  the  attraction- 
power  of  an  advertisement  is  this:  Have  the  advertisement  proofed  up 
on  the  same  paper  that  it  will  be  printed  on  in  the  publication  for  which 
it  is  intended.  Then  take  a  typical  page  of  that  publication  and  care- 
fully paste  the  ad  upon  it.  Have  it  surrounded  by  other  ads,  if  that  is 
the  way  the  copy  usually  appears. 

Then  close  the  paper  and  in  the  presence  of  some  one,  nm  over  the 
pages.  When  you  arrive  at  the  page  on  which  the  ad  is  pasted,  ascer- 
tain which  advertisement  on  that 'page  was  the  first  that  caught  the 
eye.  You  will  usually  get  fair  judgment,  and  it  is  usually  a  fair  test 
of  the  layout. 

When  the  selling  plan  is  decided  upon;  when  the  layout  is  finished 
satisfactorily,  then  comes  the  selection  of  the  headlines,  which  is  one  of 
the  biggest  of  tasks.  For  with  plan,  layout,  and  headline  selected,  the 
execution  of  the  copy  is  simple.i 

1.  Printcr'a  Ink,  January  25,  1912,  p.  10. 


194 


ADVERTISING 


A   *1HaJU    to    -yiAM-CiAAAAsl 


Thtrt   is 


'^MPEliiAL'l 

Tk^norshti 

Shot  Co, 


Figure  71 

An   example   of    a   layout    giving   the    specifications    for   the 

construction    of   the   advertisement.      The    text    portions   must 

accompany  the  above  layout.    See  pages  196,  197 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY 


195 


^•.•w 


Figure  72 
The  finished  product  according  to  the  layout  of  Fig,  71 


196 


ADVEETISING 


PBOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 
Constructing  a  Layout 
A  layout  is  a  typographical  diagram  of  an  advertisement. 
Purpose.     The  purpose  of  a  layout  is  to  show: 
(1)  Exactly  how  the  advertisement  will  appear,  the  arrangement  of 
its  parls,  cuts,  display  lines,  body  type,  borders,  etc.     The  ad-writer 
thereby  can  judge  better  whether  the  advertisement  will  make  a  pleasing 
impression  and  whether  it  conforms  to  the  rules  of  good  arrangement 
before  it  is  actually  set  up. 


Against 

Substitutes  and  Imitations 
of  "Mushroom  Qrowih,"AdL  for 

HORLICK'S 

It  means  the  Original  '^'^^  Genuine 

MALTED  MILK 

The  Food-Drink  for  all  Ages. 


RkA  mft.nwhed  grain,  in  powdiered  form. 
For  infaott,  inralids  and  growing  chJdren. 
Pive  nutritioa.  upbuUing  the  whole  body. 
Inviyonte*  ouniDg  mothers  and  the  aged. 
Get  the  beat. 


More  healthful  than  te«  or  ootfee. 
Agrees  vnth  the  weakest 
Keep  it  on  your  sideboard  at  home. 
A  quick  lunch  prepared  in  a  minute. 
All  druggists. 


|l^  Take  no  substitute^   Aek  lor  HORUCK*S> 


FiGUEE   73 

(2)  The  layout  furnishes  definite  directions  to  the  compositor  so 
that  he  may  know  just  how  to  proceed. 

Construction.  (1)  The  layout  should  show  the  exact  width  and 
depth  of  the  advertisement.  This  is  best  indicated  by  drawing  the  border 
in  its  exact  width  and  length. 


TYPE  AND  LEGIBILITY  197 

(2)  It  should  indicate  the  location  and  amount  of  space  for  the 
cut  or  cuts.  It  is  usually  well  to  sketch  the  illustration  or  to  insert  a 
proof  copy  of  it.     See  Fig.  71. 

(3)  It  should  indicate  the  location  and  size  of  the  display  lines. 
These  should  be  sketched  or  lettered  in  roughly  in  their  proper  places. 

(4)  It  should  indicate  in  the  margin  the  name  and  size  of  the  type 
faces  used  in  the  display  and  body  text.  For  example,  10-point  Caslon 
or  30-point  Cheltenham  Bold. 

(5)  It  should  usually  indicate  the  number  and  length  of  all  text 
lines  besides  the  display  by  rough  horizontal  lines.  The  copy  of  the 
body  text  should  be  attached  on  a  separate  sheet. 

Practice.  (1)  Obtain  a  full-page  magazine  advertisement  and  a 
quarter-page  (or  smaller)  newspaper  advertisement,  and  construct  a  lay- 
out for  each  according  to  the  above  specifications.  Attach  the  layout  to 
the  advertisement.! 

(2)  Eeconstruct  the  advertisement,  Fig.  73,  so  as  to  improve  the 
legibility  and  general  layout.2 

1.  It  will  be  convenient  to  obtain  the  ruled  paper  specially  prepared  for 
the  construction  of  layouts. 

2.  For  different  faces  and  sizes  of  type  see  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
ARTISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  ADVERTISEMENTS 

Art  for  Business'  Sake.  The  advertiser  is  interested  in 
art  for  business '  sake.  He  believes  in  constructing  his  adver- 
tisements in  accordance  with  approved  principles  of  artistic 
arrangement,  because  beautiful  advertisements  have  more 
pulling  power  than  ugly  ones.  Why?  Simply  because  the 
beautiful  attracts,  while  the  ugly  repels.  The  beautiful  holds 
the  interest ;  the  ugly  produces  disgust.  The  beautiful  secures 
favorable  attention  and  good  will;  the  ugly  arouses  dis- 
pleasure and  ill  will. 

All  these  factors  of  pleasure  and  displeasure  operate  in 
very  subtle,  very  telling,  ways.  In  order  to  appreciate  more 
fully  their  half  hidden,  half  unconscious,  appeals,  let  us  briefly 
notice,  first,  the  physiological,  and,  second,  the  psychological 
effects  of  pleasant,  as  contrasted  with  unpleasant,  stimuli. 

Physiological  Effects.  Several  interesting  investigations 
have  been  made  relative  to  these  problems.  For  example,  it 
has  been  found  that  pleasant  stimuli,  such  as  agreeable  colors, 
odors,  tastes,  and  tones,  tend  to  facilitate  the  depth  and  rate 
of  inspiration,  to  produce  free  and  powerful  action  of  the 
heart,  to  allow  the  muscles  to  liberate  more  energy,  and  to 
remove  inhibitions  to  normal  nerve  action.  The  popular 
expressions,  "to  feel  chesty,"  or  "down  in  the  mouth,"  are 
more  than  mere  figures  of  speech.  By  means  of  a  pneumo- 
graph attached  to  the  chest  an  accurate  record  of  the  breathing 
may  be  obtained,  which  shows  that  the  chest  tends  to  become 
slightly  larger  by  the  deeper  and  more  regular  inhalations. 
Hence,  to  feel  happy  and  proud,  means  to  feel  "chesty." 

Dearborn*  made  a  study  of  the  involuntary  movements  pro- 
duced by  the  application  of  various  pleasant  and  unpleasant 
stimuli  to  nineteen  persons.    By  means  of  delicate  recording 

1.  Dearborn,  G.  V.  N.,  Psych.  Rev.  Monog.,  Sup.  No.  9  (1899),  p.  41. 

198 


ABTISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  ADVERTISEMENTS 


199 


devices  he  was  able  to  register  the  slightest  movements  made 
with  the  fingers,  hands,  feet,  or  he.ad.  He  found  that  under 
unpleasant  stimuli  his  subjects  tended  to  contract  the  muscles, 
while  under  pleasant  stimuli  they  tended  to  extend  the 
muscles.  His  subjects  were  instructed  to  sit  quietly  and  pas- 
sively, so  that  all  responses  were  purely  involuntary  and 
unconscious.  The  following  table  gives  the  flexions  and  exten- 
sions of  the  muscles  under  the  different  forms  of  stimulation : 


Stimul.\tion 
Unpleasant 

Stimulation 
Indifferent 

Stimulation 
Pleasant 

Flexion 

66.6% 
33.3 
2  to  1 

49  0% 
51  0 
Nearly  equal 

32.2% 
67.8 
1  to  2 

Extension 

Ratio 

Hence,  under  the  influence  of  disagreeable  stimuli  the 
chances  were  two  to  one  that  the  muscles  would  contract, 
while  under  the  influence  of  agreeable  stimuli  the  chances 
were  two  to  one  that  the  muscles  would  extend  or  expand. 

By  means  of  a  dynamometer  the  grip  exerted  with  the 
hand  may  be  measured  accurately.  Titchener^  found  the  fol- 
lowing results,  expressed  in  kilograms,  produced  under  vari- 
ous pleasant  and  unpleasant  stimuli  of  odor : 


Normal 

Pleasant 

Unpleasant 

23.0 
24.0 
23.0 
25.0 

26.5  (crabapple  blossom) 
27.0  (white  rose) 
25.0  (oil  of  anise) 
26.0  (spirits  of  camphor) 

21.0  (carbon  disulphide) 
22.0  (wood  alcohol) 
21.0  (stale  cheese) 
22.5  (burnt  hair) 

Average  23.7 

26.1 

22.5 

"  It  is  clear  that  the  '  pleasant  squeeze '  is  always  the  strong- 
est, and  the  '  unpleasant '  the  weakest. ' ' 

Psychological  Effects.  The  psychological  effects  of  pleas- 
ant or  unpleasant  stimulations  are  not  less  striking  than  the 
physiological.    In  fact,  many  of  the  above  phenomena  of  reac- 

1.  Titchener,  E.  B.,  Experimental  Psychology,  Instructor'a  ManwA 
(Qualitative),  p.  169. 


200  ADVERTISING 

tions  depend  both  on  physical  and  mental  conditions.  In 
general,  we  may  say  that  agreeable  external  situations  or 
stimuli  cause  the  mind  to  act  more  quickly  and  more  nor- 
mally, associations  and  thoughts  to  flow  more  readily.  They 
make  one  optimistic  and  open  to  conviction.  The  customer  in 
good  spirits  is  more  apt  to  be  influenced  in  the  desired  way. 
He  is  more  easily  persuaded;  suggestions  take  effect  more 
quickly. 

How  radically  the  view  of  life  may  be  affected  by  agreeable 
or  disagreeable  situations,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  following 
entry  in  the  diary  of  an  early  New  England  circuit  minister : 

Wednesday  evening.  Arrived  at  the  home  of  Brother  Brown  late 
this  evening,  hungry  and  tired  after  a  long  day  in  the  saddle.  Had  a 
bountiful  supper  of  cold  pork  and  beans,  \icarm  bread,  bacon  and  eggs, 
coffee,  and  rich  pastry.  I  go  to  rest  feeling  that  my  witness  is  clear; 
the  future  is  bright;  I  feel  called  to  a  great  and  glorious  work  in  this 
place.     Brother  Brown's  family  are  godly  people. 

The  following  entry  was  made  the  next  morning : 

Thursday  morning.  Awakened  late  this  morning  after  a  troubled 
night.  I  am  very  much  depressed  in  soul;  the  way  looks  dark;  far 
from  feeling  called  to  work  among  this  people,  I  am  beginning  to  doubt 
the  safety  of  my  own  soul;  I  am  afraid  the  desires  of  Brother  Brown 
and  his  family  are  set  too  much  on  carnal  things.i 

These  aesthetic  elements  of  pleasure  and  displeasure  play  a 
far  more  subtle  role  in  human  affairs  than  is  commonly  real- 
ized. We  like  to  think  of  pleasant  things.  The  eyes  are  held 
focused  upon  a  beautiful  picture.  The  ears  are  entranced  by 
a  beautiful  symphony.  So  the  well-constructed,  artistic  adver- 
tisement attracts  and  interests  in  a  way  that  the  poorly 
constructed  one  is  unable  to  do. 

Artistic  Forms.  Even  the  most  casual  observation  re- 
veals the  fact  that  certain  outlines  and  forms  are  much  more 
pleasing  than  others.  For  example,  you  would  much  prefer 
having  your  photograph  mounted  on  a  rectangular  card  to 
having  it  mounted  on  a  square  card.    You  prefer  a  rectan- 

1.  Betts,  The  Mind  and  Its  Education. 


AUTISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  ADVEBTISEMENTS 


201 


gular  book  to  a  square  one,  or  a  vase  with  curving  outline  to 
one  with  an  irregular  outline. 

All  these  factors  of  likes  and  dislikes  in  form  and  propor- 
tion, curvature  and  symmetry,  come  up  in  numberless  ways  in 
the  laying  out  of  advertisements,  and  each  contributes  its  mite 
of  strength  or  weakness  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  advertise- 
ment. Neglect  or  disregard  of  these  factors  is  particularly 
absurd,  because  it  costs  no  more  to  have  an  advertisement 
planned  and  constructed  correctly  than  to  have  it  thrown 
together  in  any  chance  manner.  Yet  the  value  of  the  former 
far  surpasses  the  value  of  the  latter. 


-A 

o 

I 


Figure  74 

As  the  square  is  lengthened  into  a  rectangle  its  agreeableness 

varies  up  and  down  as  indicated  by  the  curve 

Agreeableness  of  rectangles 

(Adapted  from  Scripture,  The  New  Psychology,  p.  309) 


It  is  often  said  that  concerning  tastes  there  can  be  no  dis- 
puting, but  the  student  of  art  knows  well  that  there  are 
certain  universally  established  principles  which  must  be 
observed  in  successful  work.  Much  advertising  consists  of 
blind  blundering,  but  the  high  grade  advertiser  studies  the 
principles  and  effects  of  correct,  artistic  arrangements  as  thor- 
oughly as  the  painter  or  the  architect. 

Classes  of  Forms  and  Outlines.  The  chief  types  of  forms 
and  outlines  may  be  simply  classified  as  follows: 


202 


ADVERTISING 


MATTRESS 

Best  for  Hcilthful  Sleep 


Hot  wJit    lilt  Xltam,  6 
fukttaltfoll^lrKlixJnt 


(1)  The  square.  Here  we  must  distinguish  between  the 
mathematical  and  the  optical  or  apparent  square.  The  mathe- 
matical square  has  the  exact  proportion  of  one  to  one,  where 

the  sides  are  exactly  equal. 
Owing  to  the  visual  "illusion 
of  the  vertical,"  this  form  does 
not  look  square,  but  slightly 
higher  than  wide.  The  illusion 
of  the  vertical  refers  to  the  fact 
that  a  vertical  line  appears  to 
be  longer  than  a  horizontal  line 
of  the  same  length.  The  reason 
is  that  the  eyes  are  more  accus- 
tomed to  move  from  side  to  side 
than  up  and  down,  and,  conse- 
quently, it  requires  more  energy 
to  look  along  a  vertical  than 
along  a  horizontal  line,  and  so 
the  vertical  line  seems  the  long- 
er. The  optical  or  apparent 
square  is  one  that  looks  square 
but  is  actually  wider  than  high 
to  compensate  for  this  illusion. 
The  amount  of  the  illusion  is 
approximately  3  percent;  that 
is,  the  apparent  square  must 
have  the  proportion  of  1  to  1.03. 
A  difference  of  3  percent  is  small 
and  may  seem  negligible,  but,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  far  in  ex- 
cess of  the  smallest  difference 
between  lengths  recognizable  by 
the  average  person.  The  aver- 
age eye  can  distinguish  as  small 
a  difference  as  1  percent. 

(2)  The   circle.     Here    also 
the   proportion   is  one   to  one. 


If  «r«  eottU  iodttc*  aB  Ui«M  pMpU  to  bImp 
OS  «  Stcartu  &  FtMtar  AAttrvM  lor  60  nichU 
if  %r*  cowU  induce  ikvoi  lo  Irr  it  liwt 
l«itf  And  cnicir  tW  ItnuttM*  rc«lfutnM«,  iU 
th*f  imlu<:in(  comfofl.  xhej  wotibl  ttmwtr 
fiv«  it  op.  dod  )i**er  uM  •ny  otK«r  kind:. 


S#nd  for  Our  Book  oi  Bednn- 

FREE 


1  FumiiliiDg 


Figure  75 


The  panel  conforms  exactly  to 
the  ratio  of  the  golden  propor- 
tion.   See  page  203 


ARTISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  ADVERTISEMENTS 


203 


This  proportion  of  unity  is,  in  general,  a  pleasing  one.  In 
some  instances,  as  in  wall  paper  patterns,  many  illusions  of 
curved  lines  of  various  sorts  enter,  but  the  effect  upon  the 
eye  is  that  of  one  to  one. 


His  Greatest  Delight 
Every  Saturday  Night 

is  a  vigorous  shampoo  with  Packer's  Tar  Soap.  The 
cleansing  anci  refreshing  sensations  from  its  rich,  creamy 
lather  are  as  gratifying  as  they  are  immediate. 

PACKER'S  TAR  SOAP 

controls  and  prevents  dandruff,  and,  by  imparting  a  tonic 
cleanliness  to   the   scalp,   goes  far  towards   restoring  and 
maintainmg  the  life  and  health  of  the  hair. 
Our   booklet.   "The   Value   of   Systematic  Shami)ooing,"- 
gives  valuable  information.     Sent  free  On  request. 


PlGUKE   76 

The  dimensions  of  the  oval  conform  to  the  ratio  of  1  to  1.6. 

The  upper  and  lower   sections  of  the  advertisement  are  well 

proportioned 


(3)  The  double  square,  whose  sides  are  one  to  two. 

(4)  The  "golden  section"  or  rectangle,  whose  proportions 
are  1  to  1.62,  or  approximately  five  to  eight.  This  is  generally 
considered  to  be  the  most  pleasing  rectangular  form.  In  math- 
ematics the  relation  of  its  sides  is  known  as  the  mean  propor- 


204 


ADVERTISING 


tion ;  that  is,  the  short  side  of  a  rectangle  is  to  the  long  side 
as  the  long  side  is  to  the  sura  of  the  two.  The  wide  prevalence 
of  this  proportion  in  art  was  discovered  ab6ut  1855  by  Zeising. 
It  had  been  present  all  through  the  history  of  art,  but  its 
mathematical  conformity  was  not  recognized  until  then. 

To  discuss  the  reasons  offered  to  explain  why  this  is  the 
most  agreeable  rectangular  form  would  take  us  too  far  afield. 


THREE  Generations  of  Men  Have  Worn 

KNOX 

HATS 

The  firft  generation  wore  them  because  they  were  the  firiJt  fine 
hats  made  in  America.    The  second  generation  wore  them 
because  they  were  still  the  finest  hat? 
made  in  America,    The  present  gen- 
eration wears  them  because  they  are 
the  finest  hats  made  in  the  world. 

An  exclusive  hat  dealer  in  every  dty. 


Figure  77 


The  rectangle  has  the  proportions  of  1  to  2,  one  of  the  pleasing 
proportions 


Suffice  it  to  point  out  the  two  chief  lines  of  evidence  for  the 
universal  recognition  of  this  formula. 

(a)  We  find  that  objects  in  general  use  approximate  the 
golden  proportion,  such  as  books,  envelopes,  cards,  stationery, 
windows,  doors,  pictures,  etc.  This  principle  has  worked 
itself  out  unconsciously  since  the  earliest  aesthetic  feelings  of 
mankind,  long  before  there  was  any  appreciation  of  mathe- 
matical formulae.     Back  of  it  all  there  may  be  an  element  of 


ARTISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  ADVERTISEMENTS 


205 


Bon 
Ami 


r  ffarii/  ftmlched  wl'" 


:^2eK^^ 


Figure  78 


utility,  but  many  objects,  such 
as  envelopes  and  stationery, 
might  as  well  be  square  as  far 
as  use  is  concerned.  Neverthe- 
less, we  prefer  the  rectangular 
forms. 

( b )  The  problem  has  been  in- 
vestigated experimentally.  Wit- 
mer  prepared  a  large  number  of 
rectangles  varying  in  propor- 
tion from  the  perfect  square 
up  to  and  beyond  the  double 
square.  The  rectangles  usually 
employed  for  tests  of  this  kind 
are  alike  in  width  but  vary  in 
length.  Witmer  presented  these 
to  his  subjects  and  asked  them 
to  indicate  which  ones  they 
liked  and  which  ones  they  dis- 
liked. His  results  are  shown  in 
Figure  74,  page  201.  Begin- 
ning at  the  left  of  the  curve 
with  the  square  and  gradually 
lengthening  it  out,  he  found 
that  the  mathematical  square 
was  not  liked;  then  as  it  be- 
came long  enough  to  take  the 
form  of  the  optical  square,  it 
became  distinctly  pleasing.  But 
as  soon  as  it  exceeded  the  ap- 
parent square,  it  suddenly  be- 


Almost  Ever^ 
Hainan 
Without  an 
Income 

has  wants  which 
she  is  unable  to 
gratify  because  of 
lack  of  money.  If 
you  are  among 
the  number.  The 
Ladies'  Home 
Journal  has  a 
plan  which  will  in- 
terest you. 


f: 


Wc  have  me  lor  the 

The  country 
in  looking  after  our  sut>- 
icHpiion  business.  For 
this  work  we  will  pay  a 
weekly  salary,  the  size  of 
which  depends  upon  the 
amount  of  time  which  you 
can  give  to  it.  In  addition 
to  this  tabry,  you  will  re- 
ceive a  liberal  cotnmnsion 
on  each  firdrr  sent. '  Sev- 
eral thouiand  women  are 
now  reftulariy  earning 
money  in  this  way,  but  the 
bst  is  not  yet  full  •There 
a  a  pbce  (or  you  if  you 
are   wiUing   to   make  an 


Thi  L*o 
EVUIKC  PbST. 


You  need  not  hesi- 
tate to  try  it  for  fear 
of  being  unsuccessful. 
Wc  arc  willing  to  ukc 
the*  risk  if  you  are  will- 
ing to  try  the  experi- 
ment, and  there  is  no 
reason  why  you  should 
not  be  just  as  success- 
ful as  all  these  others 
have  been. 

Just  drop  a  line,  stat- 
ing whether  you  can 
give  all  of  your  time 
or  ojily  a  part  of  it  to 
.the  trial,  and  wc  will 
send  all  details  and 
everything  necessary. 

TheCurtiiPvUalmt 


Figure  79 


came  displeasing,  and  later,  as  it  approached  ^^J^^^^^  ^^i^Tn 
the  proportion  of   ^ 
and   more    agreeable 


ways     in 

1  to  1.62,  it  became  more  which     a    long 

curve    reaches    a  ^^^"^/^   ^?Pf  | 
.  may  be  dividea 

higher    point    there    than    it    does    for    the  into  more  agree- 
square,  which    means    that    the    golden    pro-  ^^^^  sections. 
portion  is  more  pleasing  than  the  square.    It  should  also  be 
noted  that  there  is  a  rather  wide  range  in  the  neighborhood 


206  ADVERTISING 

of  the  golden  proportion  over  which  the  proportions  are 
quite  pleasing.  On  the  other  hand,  a  slight  deviation  from 
the  optical  square  makes  it  at  once  disagreeable. 

(5)  The  oval.  The  most  pleasing  oval  is  the  one  that  con- 
forms to  the  golden  ratio,  in  which  the  short  axis  is  to  the  long 
axis  in  the  relation  of  1  to  1.62. 

Applications  in  Advertisements.  The  external  propor- 
tions of  space  in  standard  mediums,  especially  in  magazines, 
are,  of  course,  determined,  so  that  the  advertiser  has  little 
choice,  but  there  are  numerous  opportunities  for  exercising 
discretion  in  newspaper  space,  booklets,  and  particularly  in 
the  parts  of  an  advertisement.  Furthermore,  the  magazine 
and  the  newspaper  page  roughly  conform  to  the  desirable 
rectangular  form.  In  the  standard  magazine  the  spaces 
have  the  following  proportions: 

The  full  page,  51/2  by  8,  or,  1  to  1.45. 
The  horizontal  half  page,  5i/^  by  4,  or,  1  to  1.33. 
The  vertical  quarter  page,  2%  by  4,  or,  1  to  1.45. 
The  vertical  half  page,  2%  by  8,  or,  1  to  2.91. 
The  horizontal  quarter  page,  5i/^  by  2,  or,  1  to  2.7. 

Hence,  it  is  obvious  that  the  full  page  and  the  vertical 
quarter  approach  most  closely  to  the  proportions  of  the 
golden  section. 

Most  high  grade  booklets  have  approximately  the  golden 
proportion.  Street  car  cards,  being  11  by  21,  approach  the 
proportion  of  one  to  two. 

Aside  from  the  external  form  of  the  advertisement,  the 
question  of  form  must  be  met  in  the  arrangement  of  parts 
such  as  the  form  of  cuts,  panels,  or  blocks  of  text,  ovals, 
etc.,  and  particularly  in  the  handling  of  the  now  prevalent 
long  column  spaces.  See  the  illustrations  and  comments.  The 
long  column  advertisement  should  be  broken  up  into  sec- 
tions, each  of  which  may  have  a  pleasing  form. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ARKANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HARMONY 

Meaning  of  Balance.  The  principles  of  balance  are  rela- 
tively simple,  and  may  be  understood  most  easily  if  we 
consider  them  in  relation  to  two  general  fundamental  notions, 
namely,  the  location  of  the  optical  center  and  the  principle  of 
"gravity"  or  support.  Balance,  let  it  be  understood,  refers 
to  the  arrangement  of  the  parts  and  features  of  an  advertise- 


FlGURK   80 

Division    line    at   mathematical 
center 


FiGXJRE  81 

Division  line  at  optical 
center 


ment  so  that  it  gives  the  appearance  of  symmetry  and  sta- 
bility. An  advertisement  is  said  to  be  balanced  when  it  is  not 
top-heavy,  lop-sided,  irregular,  or  unsymmetrical  in  the  loca- 
tion of  its  features. 

The  Optical  Center.  By  this  term  we  mean  that  point  of 
a  given  area  which  is  located  apparently  at  the  center  of  the 
area.    It  is  located  above  the  actual  center  by  approximately 

207 


208 


ADVERTISING 


one-tenth  of  the  distance  from  the  lower  border  to  the  mathe- 
matical center.  Thus  in  the  standard  magazine  page,  which 
is  514  by  8  inches,  the  mathematical  center  is  four  inches  from 
the  lower  border,  but  the  optical  center  is  about  one-tenth  of 
four  inches,  or  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch,  above  the 
mathematical  center.  Compare  the  two  illustrations  on  page 
207.     In  the  first  the  middle  line  is  drawn  exactly  through 


FiGUKE  82  Figure  83 

Division  line  at  upper  division  Division  line  at  lower  division 

of  golden  proportion  of  golden  proportion 

the  actual  center  of  the  rectangle,  while  in  the  second  it  is 
drawn  through  the  optical  center.  The  first  one  looks  to  be 
too  low,  and  makes  the  rectangle  seem  top-heavy.  To  give 
the  impression  of  stability  and  sufficiency  of  support,  it  seems 
to  be  necessary  to  make  the  lower  half  slightly  larger,  in  order 
to  maintain  the  weight  of  the  upper.  There  are  numerous 
illustrations  in  which  this  fact  applies.  For  example,  the 
lower  half  of  the  letter  S  is  slightly  larger  than  the  upper 
half.  This  difference  can  be  more  easily  observed  by  turning 
the  letter  upside  down;  the  middle  bar  in  the  letter  E  is 
slightly  above  the  center. 


ABBANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HARMONY 


209 


Location  of  the  Main  Feature.  In  an  earlier  chapter  it 
was  pointed  out  that  an  advertisement  ought  to  have  one 
prominent  display  feature,  cut,  or  headline,  and  preferably 
not  more  than  one.  What  is  the  best  location  for  this  main 
display  element  ?  Other  things  being  equal,  the  best  positions 
are  as  follows,  in  the  order  of  preference : 


Figure  84 

The  figures  or  "weights"  at  the  ends  of  the  diameters  must 
be  equal  in  order  to  produce  a  balanced  arrangement 


(1)  At  the  optical  center. 

(2)  At  the  upper  division  point  of  the  "golden  propor- 
tion." That  is,  at  the  point  so  located  that  the  upper  area 
and  the  lower  area  maintain  the  ratio  of  1  to  1.62. 


210 


ADVEKTiaiNG 


(3)  At  the  lower  division  point  of  the  "golden  propor- 
tion."    See  the  illustrations  on  page  208. 

(4)  Near  the  extreme  top. 

(5)  Near  extreme  bottom. 

These  are  the  natural  points  of  locating  features  and  the 
ones  which  give  the  most  pleasing  division  of  the  space.  In 
many  instances,  specific  conditions  must  be  taken  into  con- 


_^^  This  b  the  Size  of  tlie  Ad  ^^ 
^    He  Used  in  Hie  Tribone!    ^ 

Alex  Bernstein,  habcrdaaher  at  31  North  dark  street,  it 
a  living,  breathing  proof  of  the  bet  that  The  Tribune's  new 
advertising  section,  "Where  to  Find  Today's  Bargains,"  is  a 
tremendous  success  as  a  result-getter.  He  inserted  a  three-line 
advertisement  in  this  section.  Now,  mind  you,  there  are  2, 100 
lines  on  a  Tribune  [>age.  Mr.  Bernstein  used  only  l-700th  of 
a  ^ge — three  lines — and  he 

Increased  His  Business  Up 


to  50%  in  All  Departments 

It's  wonderful.  It's  amazing.  It's  iar  better  than  anything 
we  hqped  for  >vhen  we  inaugurated  this  new  advertising  plan. 
Mr.  fiertutein  says: 

"My  ad  in  your  'Where  to  Find  Today's  Bargains'  depart- 
ment has  brought  resulu  beyond  my  expectations.  I  confined 
myself  to  advertising  one  well  known  article  only  f  Arrow  collars 
at  the  cut  price  of  8  cents)  and  ever  since  1  had  this  ad  in  your 
new  advertising  section  my  sales  have  increased  IN  ALL  DE- 
PARTMENTS (not  alone  in  Arrow  collars)  UP  TO  FIFTY 
PER  CENT." 

The  Tribune  h««  solved  an  adwrtttlitf  problem  that 
hei  puzzled  newtpeperdotn  for  yeart.  Every  merchant 
In  Chicefo— North.  South,  Weet  Side  or  Loop — should 
take  advantafe  of  it.  Just  phone  to  CpiTRAL  100 
and  we  will  send  a  repreaentative  to  see  you  at  once. 

TWTribane  Prists  Far  More  AdvcrtisiBf  Tkaa  Aiy  Otkrr  Cliea(*Par<r 
TIm  Worid's  Gr«rt««t  Itynfrnpt 


Figure  85 

The  central  display  line  is  located  at  the  upper  division  point 

of  the  golden  proportion.     The  ratio  of  the  upper  portion  to 

the  lower  is  that  of  1  to  1.6.    The  exact  position  is  indicated  by 

the  horizontal  line  drawn  through  the  display  line 

sideration,  but  all  well-constructed  advertisements  adhere  to 
these  positions  as  closely  as  the  material  at  hand  will  permit. 
The  Principle  of  Support  or  Stability.  An  advertise- 
ment appears  balanced  if  all  its  parts  seem  to  be  evenly  sup- 
ported at  the  optical  center.     Thus,  if  an  advertisement  has 


ARRANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HARMONY 


211 


one  heavy  cut,  it  would  ordinarily  not  do  to  place  it  to  one 
side  without  having  a  feature  of  equal  weight  to  counter- 
balance it  on  the  opposite  side.  It  is  simply  the  principle  of 
gravity,  if  we  may  call  it  so,  applied  to  pictorial  arrange- 
ments.    We  may   best  understand  the   application  of  this 


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Figure  86 

The  central  panel   has   the   most  pleasing  proportion   and  is 
located  at  the  optical  center 


principle  in  its  simplest  form  by  the  following  diagrammatic 
illustrations.  If  we  have  a  weight,  say  a  cut,  or  a  block  of 
heavy  type,  in  one  position,  it  must  be  placed  either  above 
the  center  of  support,  or  it  must  be  held  up  by  a  counter- 
weight on  the  opposite  side.    The  center  of  the  support  in  the 


212 


ADVERTISING 


advertisement  is  the  optical  center  or  some  point  in  a  vertical 
line  running  through  the  optical  center.    See  Figure  84. 


Hats  that  lead 
— backed  by  a  guarantee 

Do  you  know  itut  \>-hcn  you  buy  a  nnjut'''^j&.  a 
fjoutivc  biacJmg  guaianlrv  goes  to  vtju  with  il  ?  EX> 
you  know  iKal  {he  d<-alrr  >»h<)  selli  il  does  not  want 
you  lo  keep  ihr  hat  unlca  the  qu.'Jily  b  tighl  in  evoy 
particular)  AikI  in  thai  auuiance  uc  stand  behind 
Ibe  drakr  >Wk>  sells 


"CbrracI  SirUt  Im  Aha" 


Ttai  M^M  rfMi  i>K-  Ut  ■««  h« .«! 

1.  *«  .iuM  J.I.J  l>.lm  m  ln«. 

■•.^o  Sqtn  »  «Bai  J».' 1  -  *<  l«,|M  aai«t»*l  <<  U  j-vn 

■W^.  inV  «  t*mt  mw^i  S—€t  trtm  Imcton  J  y^  if' 

^  MoAers  o^  tht  c^^a  Ctkbrattd  f3  Hat 


FiGUEE    87 

The  two  cuts  counterbalance  by 

being  placed  one  at  the  top  and 

the  other  at  the  bottom 


H 


lai 


The  Delight  of 
Instinctive  Playing 


Y 


VIRTUODO 

THE   NEW  INSTINCTIVE   PLAYER    PIANO 


I  ihr  en  >  L-j  s^  /•  fr«,ftr«  &>.  Ir; 


HALLET  y  DAVIS  PIANO  CO 


-srtc:  w. 


Figure  88 

An  example  of  placing  a  cut  at 
the  extreme  top 


If  we  follow  out  still  further  the  analogy  of  gravity,  we 
notice  that  the  principle  of  leverage  also  applies.  That  is, 
if  j'ou  have  a  large,  heavy  weight  on  one  side,  it  may  be  offset 


ABEANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HABMONT 


213 


by  a  smaller  weight  on  the  opposite  side,  provided  it  is  placed 
at  a  correspondingly  greater  distance.  Or,  it  may  be  offset  by 
two  smaller  weights  symmetrically  located  as  shown  in  the 
illustrations.  Heavy  black  cuts,  or  bold  black  type,  or  deep 
colors  give  the  impression  of  heaviness  as  contrasted  with  light 


Figure  89 

Holbein's  Madonna.     The  parts  of  the  picture  are  beautifully 

balanced.    The  vertical  line  is  drawn  through  the  optical  center 

and  the  horizontal  line  is  drawn  through  the  upper  division 

point  of  the  golden  ratio 

gray  or  bright  colors.  All  these  factors. ha^e  to  be  estimated 
according  to  their  apparent  weight  and  then  counterbalanced 
proportionately. 

Notice  how  these  principles  of  balance  are  beautifully  illus- 


214  ADVEBTISING 

trated  in  Figures  89,  90.     All  parts  are  thoroughly  counter- 
balanced and  fully  supported  at  the  optical  center. 

Notice  the  accompanying  illustrations  of  advertisements  in 
which  the  chief  possible  locations  of  cuts  are  pointed  out.  If 
one  cut  only  is  used,  it  may  be  placed  in  any  of  the  positions 


Figure  90 

Raphael's  Madonna.     The  two  lines  are  drawn  in  positions 
corresponding  to  the  ones  in  Figure  89 

pointed  out  above  in  connection  with  the  location  of  the  main 
feature.  If  two  or  more  cuts  are  used,  they  must  be  placed 
so  that  they  will  offset  each  other. 

Representation  of  Action.      As  was  said  on  page  169, 
movement  must  be  represented  in  such  a  manner  that  the 


ARRANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HARMONY 


215 


person  or  animal  in  action  has  one  of  the  positions  of 
momentary  rest.  A  person  represented  as  walking  would 
seem  unstable  if  he  were  shown  with  one  foot  in  the  air  in 
the  act  of  taking  a  step.  On  the  contrary,  both  feet  must 
be  on  the  ground,  as  they  are  after  having  completed  a  step, 


FiGUEE  91 
Excellent  balance 


when  they  are  ready  to  take  the  next  one.  The  picture  on 
page  216  shows  the  discus  thrower  in  a  position  of  momen- 
tary rest  just  as  he  is  ready  to  throw. 

Meaning  of  Harmony.    By  harmony  in  an  advertisement 
we  mean  the  agreeable  combination  of  the  parts  and  elements, 


216  ADVEBTISING 

such  as  borders,  type,  cuts,  shapes,  and  colors,  out  of  which 
the  advertisement  is  constructed.  Not  only  should  the  various 
parts  harmonize  in  a  pleasing  manner,  but  in  a  still  more 
fundamental  sense,  the  structure  and  appearance  of  the  adver- 
tisement as  a  whole  should  be  in  accord  with  the  commodity 


Figure  92 
The  Discobolus — a  correct  representation  of  motion 

advertised.  There  are,  for  example,  certain  commodities 
which  require  particular  emphasis  upon  artistic  aspects,  while 
others  require  the  plain,  undecorated  form  of  presentation. 
To  illustrate:  an  advertisement  of  millinery  should  be 
prepared  in  an  entirely  different  manner  from  an  advertise- 
ment of  hardware.     The  former  is  made  more  effective  by 


ABBANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HABMONY 


217 


bringing  out  artistic,  dainty,  and  stylish  aspects,  while  the 
latter  should  give  the  appearance  of  strength  and  durability. 
Imagine,  for  example,  a  barb  wire  fence  advertised  after  the 
manner  of  Gage  millinery,  or  vice  versa.  The  effect  would 
be  utterly  incongruous.     The  advertising  of  Ivory  Soap,  at 


Figure  93 
Approximately  correct  portrayal  of  action 

least  in  recent  years,  is  an  excellent  example  of  cleanliness  and 
good  taste  in  the  advertisements. 

Harmony  in  Forms  and  Shapes.  Similar  shapes,  forms, 
or  outlines,  as  a  rule,  go  together  better  than  forms  that  are 
distinctly  different.    Thus  curves  and  curvilinear  forms  har- 


218 


ADVERTISING 


monize  among  themselves;  straight  lines  and  rectangular 
forms  go  well  together.    See  illustration. 

The  Border  should  harmonize  with  the  nature  of  the  com- 
modity. Some  advertisements  may  be  made  more  effective  by 
a  decorative  border,  particularly  those  which  require  emphasis 
upon  artistic  qualities. 

The  Quality  and  Kind  of  Paper  must  be  taken  account  of. 

Tone.  By  tone  is  meant  the  appropriate  degree  of  gray- 
ness  or  blackness.     Many  advertisements  contain  too  much 


LrikblWkiLUT^feR^! 


A5R."»>UR  DEALER.  TOVLGAGt  HATS 


Figure  94 

An    excellent    example    of    har- 
mony  between    the   product   and 
the  advertisement 


BERRY  BROTHERSuHmo 

:;^- ^     VARHtSHnANUfACTIRDtt  2:^ 
''^l.         DETROIT         ^^^\. 


Figure  95 

The  tone  seems  too  dark  and 
heavy 


dead  black  and  thus  give  a  depressing  effect.  Note  the 
illustration  above. 

Styles  of  Type.  Besides  legibility,  the  main  considerations 
in  selecting  the  type  for  an  advertisement  are : 

(a)  Fancy  or  special  type  should  be  used  only  when  it 
adds  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  advertisement,  either  in  giving 
it  distinctiveness  or  greater  aesthetic  effect. 


AERANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HABMONY 


219 


(b)  As  few  type  faces  and  sizes  as  possible  should  be  used. 
As  a  rule,  not  more  than  two  different  faces  should  be  allowed, 
unless  they  are  closely  related  faces,  otherwise  the  advertise- 
ment has  a  clashing,  incongruous  appearance. 

Color  Combinations,  In  the  combination  of  colors  very 
few  generalizations  can  be  made.  Cohn  states,  on  the  basis 
of  extensive  tests,  that  the  more  different  two  colors  are,  the 
more  agreeable  they  are  in  combination.     Hence,  complemen- 


A     BOY'S 
VACATION  ABROA 

BY   C.F.KING.  cJr. 

ADimcmfimAsiJWEKs'TimorEmK.  uwrnyrvAv 

E\S)-MKHT.Emiim<mSniEBi'A  /'-YEm-OIl  samiBOY 

0.\ HIS  FIRST  VISIT  TO  THE  OLD  WORLD  »^ 

-X  77/EBOS7m~([LOM'AWOm£R.iEm0P0imVMn3mPE/i.S 

Pin4J?£-  mV.^^SABOOKOETUTL  IT  15 A  mERBELATIOKz^ 

NOT  A  DULL  MOMENT  in  the  BOOK 

/MO^SfimEmiM  /TAimA\i>BixsiAV  mersiiips  avd 

O.VBWPEM  miNSDESCmrOfVA  GiIEfn.BoymMA.WES. 

Ml  m-POimOE/STEmEA^D  nESMTJ  OEDWPEMAY 

/irSLfVAvOD/JOYEDBrA  KEWSQ  OF  EHIS ISIQIE  BOW. 

NOTHINO  LIKE  IT  EVER  PRINTED  BEFORE 

loNboM.pABij.luzesiiE.TKt  Aipj. ArntNs  Ano  Constantinopu  Tuke  On  A 
N-w  (HAiin  Umh  Dc»«ieio  In  Tms  1fbu>i<,  Author  s  LkSY,  Boviixt  Sfict  Sr^it. 
/iBurjUanavMaW  nt bcolitMnlbfrpp^edbl.lV'byo/dbjxIyCkjng., 

mOM  SNAPJV0T5  MADl  »V  IMl  AUTHOR. 

ThrliiHiliispnnfrffupon  Irish  Imm  bond f^jtcr.riecUc-tKlge.bntmd 

in  red  silt  mill  goM  mounlinys  A/id  lopprd  mill  gM 

On  sale  al  all  bookstores,  or  sent  postpaid  or>  receipt  of  price.  4155 

M.Clark  Pubushinc  Co.  Boston  ,  Ma5x. 


Figure  96 
A  confused  impression  is  made  by  the  too  numerous  type  faces 

tary  colors  usually  go  well  together,  and  grays  in  combination 
are  the  more  agreeable  the  more  different  they  are  in  bright- 
ness. On  the  other  hand,  closely  allied  shades  and  tints  of  the 
same  color  harmonize  well.  The  use  of  colors  is  largely  deter- 
mined by  the  factors  discussed  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

Pleasing  Ideas.  It  would  seem  to  be  obvious  that  the  ideas 
and  illustrations  should  not  create  a  depressing  or  disgusting 
effect.    Yet  many  advertisements,  particularly  in  the  undis- 


220 


ADVEBTISING 


criminating  mediums,  contain  advertisements  which  are  so 
utterly  disgusting  and  improper  as  to  be  practically  value- 
less for  creating  a  favorable  impression. 


e^sy  to  asA/&/*' 

White 
Star  Coffee 

BuyicK  coSee  in  one  ami  tHo  pound 
cans  makirs  ii  possible  for  you  lo  obtain 
all  ihr  ttrenKlh  and  all  the  flavor.  This 
in  really  what  you  buy,  for  Ihe  grounds 
you  throw  away.  A  pound  of  White 
Star  Coffee  will  make  more  cupf  than 
a  pound  of  .\ny  olhir  brand,  because  it  is 
developed  more  hichly. 

The  leadi:\K  grocer  in  each  city  is  the 
distributor  and  carries  in  itock  the  AA 
grade  of  Mocha  and  Java  at  40  cents,  the 
No.  I  Morha  and  fava  at  ^5.  ihe  \o.  2 
blend  at  30,  and  ih(-  Nc  " 
3  blend  at  2$ 
per  pound. 


Figure  97 

The  association  of  a  slimy  ani- 
mal with  a  food  is  disgusting  to 
many  people 


Figure  98 


Eyes  Cured 


Without  the  Knife 


Qratsful  Patron*  Tell  of  Alssost  l(lr»CB«; 
loni  Cnr«i  of  Catiuracta,  Oranulatad  ' 
Haa.  Wild  Kairti,  TTlcen,  Weak,  I 
Watery  Xyeg  aad  AU  Eya  Slaenaaf  j 
— BeniT  Yonr  name  and  Addresi  | 
wjtli  Two-Csnt  Stomp  for 
rree  Trial  Bottle. 
Tlw  cure?  beinit  irude  hy  tM»  nuwlc  lotli*  a  .  . 
Hajr  jnj  uul*  r.-m»rli«fclc.  I  h«i«  rcjxxteSl*  I* 
•locKi  to  Kifht  powuM  ii«rlT  MlBd  fcif  je«™.  ' 

t.  i("eT>.    t»tt*1   hair*,   gnnulatcd   ijiU  diMDpw 

■  ■    111!  nueio  m__^ 

rf  h«i*  nil"  oth«f  rWBMi<«  and  all 

K     It  ift  bxlevd  a  tnisxo  rrmedj 

•'  '<lt»'tIiU  mt  UUi  t/i  my  n* 
.'• -traar  a»a.trrinbi«. 

I'lGUKE    99 

Figures  98  and  99  are  types  of 
repulsive  illustration? 


ARRANGEMENT,  BALANCE,  AND  HARMONT  221 

PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Obtain  a  magazine  advertisement  and  point  out  in  what  respects  it 
complies  with  or  violates  the  principles  of  proportion.  For  example,  what 
are  the  proportions  of  its  external  dimensions?  Are  its  parts,  cuts,  and 
blocks  of  type  correctly  proportioned? 

2.  Make  a  similar  study  of  a  long  column  magazine  advertisement. 


THERES     ; 
;      ALWAYS 
MORE 

Cream 
Wheat! 


/ 


Figure  luu 

Some  readers  may  be  repelled  by  the  suggestion  that  cats  like 
to  eat  Cream  of  Wheat 

3.  Make  a  study  of  a  magazine  advertisement  with  reference  to  the 
location  of  cuts,  headline,  text,  etc.  Show  how  the  principles  of  balance 
have  been  followed  or  violated. 

4.  Construct  the  complete  layout  for  an  advertisement  of  Packer's 
Tar  Soap,  the  parts  of  which  are  given  on  page  222.  Assemble  them  into 
a  well-arranged  advertisement.  It  is  to  be  a  page  advertisement  of 
standard  magazine  size. 


222 


ADVEETISINQ 


Pure  as  the  Pines. 


Headings  and  subheadings: 
Packer's  Tar  Soap. 

Text: 

Packer's  Tar  Soap  also  imparts  vigor  to  the  whole  scalp.  Its 
generous,  creamy  lather  rubbed  into  the  scalp  with  gentle  and  con- 
tinued manipulation  softens  and  removes  all  dandruff  and  seborrheal 


Figure  101 


scales.    Its  antiseptic  and  tonic  action  imparts  vigor  to  the  glandu- 
lar structures  which  nourish  and  enliven  the  hair,  thus  stimulating 
its  growth  and  maintaining  its  vitality  and  luster. 
Helpful  booklet  on  Shampooing  mailed  free. 
The  Packer  Mfg.  Co.,  Suite  85C,  81  Fulton  St.,  New  York. 

5.  Select  by  chance  five  newspaper  advertisements.  They  should  be 
rather  large,  but  smaller  than  full-page  spaces.  Make  a  study  of  them 
regarding  the  following  points:  (a)  Determine  the  ratios  of  their  ex- 
ternal dimensions  to  see  how  closely  they  conform  to  any  of  the  artistic- 
ally preferred  proportions,  (b)  Determine  the  location  of  the  chief 
display  feature  in  each  one  to  see  whether  it  is  located  near  any  of  the 
preferred  locations. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AEGUMENTATIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS 

Types  of  Copy.  There  are  two  types  or  general  styles 
of  copy,  the  first,  argumentative,  and  the  second,  suggestive. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say  that  there  are  two  extreme 


Figure  102 
The  "suggestive"  type  of  advertisement 

types  of  copy,  one  purely  argumentative,  and  the  other  purely 
suggestive,  and  that  there  are  many  gradations  and  varying 
combinations  of  the  two,  between  these  extremes.  By  argu- 
mentative copy  is  meant  that  kind  of  advertisement  whiclj 

223 


224 


ADVERTISING 


makes  an  appeal  to  reason.  It  is,  therefore,  commonly  called 
*  *  reason- why ' '  copy.  It  presents  arguments  and  selling  points 
of  various  kinds,  together  with  description  and  information 
about  the  commodity.  By  suggestive  copy  is  meant  that  kind 
of  advertisement  which  contains  little  text,  and,  usually,  a 


Why  Help  Wear 
Out  the  Stairs? 

Theelcvatfd  ruiIroa<t«,  Mjliway^anr! 
public  tuildingsarc  in  constant  »vi  re  )i 
»(  stair  covering  which  wU!  ».ith- 
itti>n(t,forit  reasonable  lettfjth  of  tin.' . 
(he  incestiant  tnimp  o(  humaii  '-■■-<- 
Ordinary  stair  coverinirs  p>  t<.  i  ■  ■ 
very  quickly  undtr  the  puutnl  i  i 
M:rapc  of  hard  leather  hrel!&a:Hi  r.  . 
nails.broushtdownwithaforrt  •  >; 
lo  the  rnltre  wvifiht  of  the  *. 

THINK  uluit  tlii^   jar 
:ui(!   frittioii,  M)   luird 

on  ti)u<^l»  flooriiiji,  must 

do  to  sensitive  bodies  and 

nerves. 

Wear  O'Sullivan's  Heels 

of   New,  Live    Rubber. 

They  take  up  the  jolt  and 

jarof  \\alkinj;.  You  \\'(in't  . 

wear  out  the  .stairs — and,  what  is  more  important,  you  will 

save  your  ner\'ous  system  the  shock  of  pounding  your  whole 

weight  down  on  hard  leather. 

O'Sullivan's  Heels  make  walking  easy,  save  fatigue,  and  eive  you  a 

brisk,  alert  step.  Wear  them  fur  comfort,  health  and  eomomv. 
0'Sulliv.iri's  Heels  cost  but  50c  a  pair,  atiached.  Some  ?hoc  manuf.ittt! 
them  on  their  shtxt.  before  the.y  leave  the  factory.  All  shoemakers  aiiU  <tu' 
en  will  attach  them  to  your  shoes  when  you  buy  thrm.  or  at  any  other 
If  you  i-rcfcr.  lend  uf  J5c  in  stamps  and  a  tracinf;  of  your  heel,  and  wc 
mail  yo'.:  a  pair.    O  Sullivan  Rubber  Co.,  Ul  Hudson  St..  Neiv  Vi.tl.. 


For  Men,  Women  and  Children 

Iirri    Q    ofNew 
llllilliLiiD    Uve  Rubber 


Figure  103 
A  typical  argumentative  advertisement 


large  illustration.  It  is  designed  to  make  an  impression  upon 
the  attention  and  memory,  and  to  secure  results  simply  by 
suggestion,  without  the  appeal  to  reason  or  deliberation.  It 
consists,  as  a  rule,  mostly  of  illustrations  suggesting  the  use 
and  desirability  of  the  commodity.  Typical  examples  of  the 
two  styles  are  given  in  Figures  102  and  103. 


ARGUMENTATIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS  225 

Copy  that  is  purely  argumentative  or  purely  suggestive 
is  seldom  used.  In  most  advertisements  the  two  types  are 
combined  in  varying  proportions.  One  or  the  other  quite 
often  may  predominate. 

When  to  Use  Suggestive  Copy.  Here  the  question  may 
be  asked,  When  is  purely  suggestive  copy  justifiable?  In 
general,  we  may  say  that  it  is  justifiable  if  the  commodity  is 
(a)  well  known,  or  (b)  inexpensive.  After  an  article  has  been 
advertised  for  a  long  time  and  is  widely  known,  it  may  be 
sufficient  simply  to  keep  the  name  before  the  people,  and  to 
have  the  advertisements  act  as  reminders.  There  is,  however, 
this  objection  to  purely  suggestive  or  reminding  copy,  namely, 
that  no  matter  how  well  known  a  commodity  may  be,  there  is 
always  a  certain  percentage  of  new  readers  who  are  not 
familiar  with  it.  So  that,  from  this  point  of  view,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  any  campaign  ought  to  be  reduced  to  a  mere 
reminding  type  of  publicity. 

Suggestive  copy  is  generally  justifiable  only  for  articles 
that  cost  little,  such  as  toilet  articles  and  household  neces- 
sities. An  article  which  involves  the  expenditure  of  a  large 
sum  of  money,  such  as  an  automobile  or  a  piano,  is  usually 
purchased  after  considerable  deliberation  and  comparison. 
The  purchaser  wants  to  know  as  much  about  it  as  possible. 
An  inexpensive  article  is  more  frequently  bought  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment  and  on  the  basis  of  suggestion. 

Let  us  now  consider  more  fully  the  use  of  argumentative 
copy. 

Steps  in  a  Deliberate  Purchase.  In  any  purchase  which 
is  made  on  the  basis  of  thought  and  deliberation,  what  are  the 
usual  processes  of  thinking  ?  The  analysis  of  this  process  will 
have  to  be  largely  schematic,  and  may  not  actually  occur  in 
the  logical  order  to  be  presented,  but  the  steps  pointed  out  are 
the  ones  usually  involved  in  some  form  or  other. 

To  make  the  situation  entirely  concrete,  suppose  that  yon 
are  interested  at  the  present  moment  in  the  purchase  of  a 
camera.  What  considerations  are  likely  to  be  weighed  before 
you  decide  to  make  a  purchase?     (1)   The  desirability  of  the 


226 


ADVEETISINQ 


"Takci  All  the  Hard  Worl(  Out  of  Housecleaning' 


Old  Dutch  Oauwa 
has  tiinplUied  mkI 
lightened  hoDte- 
cleaning  to  «  remwk- 
able  extent.  Thi* 
handy,  all-'rouhd 
Cleanaer  accoht- 
pliahe*  more  than 
all  old-fa«hioned 
cleaners  put  togeth- 
er—with far  leu 
trouble,  and  at  len 
expenae. 


Thia  one  Cteanacr 
cUans,  icnt&s,  JcoafS 
and  polithtt.  It 
replace*  aoap,  toap- 
powders,  scouring 
bricks  and  metal- 
polishes,  and  works 
mechanically^  not 
chemically.  The 
modem  housewife 
has  learned  to  avoid 
caustic  and  acid 
cleanen 


Large,  Sifting- 
Top  Can*  (At 
All  Grocers) 


lOc 


Old  DutcK  Qeuiacr  clew  marUc;  punted  vmOl. 
batk  tubik  gUsawve  and  cutlery;  ■crub*  wood 
flooni,  vroodwork.  moaairs  and  tiling;  acoura  poti^ 
ketdca.  pana,  boiler*,  tinka  and  Aatirona;  poliahe* 
buccta.  door  knoba,  railing!,  braaa.  aleel  copper, 
c*c— M«A  M#y  itflJ^  Ac^/rom  yea 


If  yoor  grocer  doea  not  Icecp  Old  [Xjtcb  Cleanacr, 
•end  ua  kia  name  and  lOc  in  ataiopa.  and  wc'tf 
fMIif  pay  22t  pcttagt  to  aend  you  A  futt-iixe  cam. 

Our  illuatrated  "Hinta  for  Houaevnvea"  booUil 
Irac  upon  requcat 


Cudahy,  Omaha,  Neb,  (Branch  for  CmaJa,  Tonmio) 


Figure  104 


An  advertisement  combining  argument  and  suggestion  in 
nearly  equal  amounts 


ARGUMENTATIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS  227 

article  is  the  first.  You  must  have  a  feeling  of  the  worthiness 
of  the  article,  an  idea  of  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  the 
possession  of  a  camera.  (2)  A  comparison  of  competing 
articles  will  be  made;  that  is,  a  comparison  of  the  merits  of 
the  different  makes  of  cameras  on  the  market.  (3)  The  means 
of  securing  the  article  will  be  considered.  Can  you  purchase 
it  at  the  nearest  store  ?  Must  you  send  for  it  ?  What  will  it 
cost?  Where  can  you  most  conveniently  obtain  the  supplies 
for  the  particular  camera  you  may  purchase?  (4)  Last  of 
all  comes  the  final  decision  to  purchase  a  particular  make  of 
camera.^ 

Not  every  argumentative  advertisement  needs  to  cover  all 
these  different  steps.  Separate  points  may  be  emphasized  in 
different  advertisements,  but  all  of  them  must  be  impressed 
upon  the  customer's  mind  in  some  form  or  other  before  he  is 
likely  to  buy.  The  illustration  in  Figure  104  of  the  "Old 
Dutch  Cleanser"  illustrates  these  four  steps  very  well. 
(1)  The  desirability  of  the  commodity  is  brought  out  in  the 
first  paragraph:  "Old  Dutch  Cleanser  has  simplified  and 
lightened  housecleaning  to  a  remarkable  extent.  This  handy, 
all- 'round  Cleanser  accomplishes  more  than  all  old-fashioned 
cleansers  put  together  —  with  far  less  trouble,  and  at  less 
expense."  (2)  Comparison  of  competing  articles  is  made  in 
the  second  paragraph :  "  It  replaces  soap,  soap  powders,  scour- 
ing bricks  and  metal  polishes,  and  works  mechanically,  not 
chemically.  The  modern  housewife  has  learned  to  avoid  caus- 
tic and  acid  cleansers."  (3)  The  means  of  securing  the 
article  are  urged  in  the  next  paragraph  of  heavy  type: 
"Large  sif ting-top  cans  (At  all  grocers),  10c."  (4)  The  final 
decision,  and  the  means  of  securing  the  article,  are  further 
urged  in  the  last  paragraph :  "If  your  grocer  does  not  keep 


1.  These  are  the  steps  involved  In  practically  any  form  of  deliberate 
decision.  To  quote  from  Scott,  Psychology  of  Advertising,  p.  94 :  "Voluntary 
action  may  be  analyzed  into  (a)  an  idea  of  two  or  more  attainable  ends, 
(b)  an  idea  of  the  means  to  attain  these  ends,  (c)  a  feeling  of  the  value  or 
worthiness  of  the  different  ends,  (d)  a  comparison  of  the  values  of  the 
different  ends  and  of  the  diflBculties  of  the  means,  and  finally  (e)  a  choosing 
of  one  of  the  ends  and  striving  to  attain  it." 


228 


ADVEBTISING 


Old  Dutch  Cleanser,  send  us  his  name  and  10c  in  stamps,  and 
we'll  gladly  pay  22c  postage  to  send  you  a  full-size  can." 

Description  and  Descriptive  Phrases.  The  worthiness 
and  the  desirability  of  an  article  depend,  among  other  factors, 
upon  a  clear,  distinct  idea  of  what  the  article  is  like;  and  a 
clear  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  object  depends  upon  the  illus- 


Sometime.  somewhere  \ 
someone  "may"  \ 
make  a.  pure  1 
food     the     e<]|ual  1 

of  I 

Grape-Nuts 

Never,    anyone 
anywKere.    will 
make     a     better  ■ 
one. 
"TKere's  a.  Reason 


Grape-Nuts 


I^aA  i^  the  n-v. 


tiMue  in  Brain  and  N'cne  Crm 


Postum  Cereal  Company,  Ltd.,  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  U.  S.  A. 


FiGlTRE  105 
Too  boastful  and  general 

tration  and  the  descriptive  phrases  used  concerning  it.  The 
most  vivid  idea  of  an  article  can  be  obtained  by  seeing,  hear- 
ing, tasting,  smelling,  touching,  or  handling  the  article  itself. 
In  advertising,  the  article  can  be  represented  only  by  proxy. 
The  best  substitute  for  the  article  is  a  good  picture  of  it.  The 
next  best  substitute  is  a  good,  brief,  vivid  description  of  it. 


ABGUMENTATIVE  ADVEBTISEMENTS 


229 


A  vivid  description  should  produce  mental  pictures  of  the 
object  in  the  mind  of  the  reader.  By  a  mental  picture  or 
image  is  meant  the  recalling  in  the  mind  of  just  how  the 
object  looks,  or  feels,  or  tastes,  or  smells,  or  sounds,  depend- 
ing upon  which  sense  or  senses  are  stimulated  by  it.    We  have 


"Have  You  a  Little* Fairy' 

in  Your  liome?" 

— then  tomorrow 
morning  begin  to 
make  your  little 
Fairy  clean  and 
fresh  and  fine  with 

FAIRY  SOAP 


,  C  It  is  so  much  more 
than  "just  soap" — ■ 
it  is  amazingly  good 
soap — always  ivhite, 
clean,  sweet  and  pure. 

CThe  oval,  floating 
cake  fits  the  hand,  and 
wears  down  to  the 
thinnest  wafer — lath- 
ering and  cleansing 
to  the  last  shadow. 

C  Money  cannot 
buy  better  soap. 


Figure  106 
Good,  vivid  description 


as  many  different  kinds  of  mental  images  as  we  have  sense 
organs.  Thus  you  may  recall  in  your  mind's  eye  how  your 
mother  looks.  This  picture  may  be  so  vivid  that  you  can 
almost  see  her  stand  before  you.  Likewise,  you  may  recall 
exactly  how  her  voice  sounds  so  that  you  can  almost  hear  her 


ADVESTISING 

speak.  You  may  recall  the  odor  of  coffee  so  vividly  that  you 
can  almost  smell  it.  You  may  recall  the  taste  of  an  orange 
80  clearly  that  you  can  almost  taste  it.  Or,  you  may  recall 
the  touch  of  velvet  so  distinctly  that  you  can  almost  feel  it. 
These  are  mental  images.  They  are  the  most  realistic  repre- 
sentatives of  objects  when  they  themselves  are  not  present.^ 

Concreteness  of  Mental  Pictures.  This  particular  phase 
of  the  advertiser 's  work  requires  the  use  of  much  thought  and 
,  ingenuity.  Concreteness  and  definiteness  in  phrases  are 
always  preferable  to  glittering  generalities.  An  apple  might 
.be  described  as  "The  Michigan  Apple,  the  finest  in  the  world." 
;0r,  it  might  be  described  as  a  beautiful  red  apple  with  a  deli- 
cious flavor.  The  latter  description,  carried  out  more  fully, 
arouses  a  picture  in  your  mind  of  the  appearance  and  the 
taste  of  the  apple.  It  appeals  to  the  same  sense  as  the  apple 
itself  does.  The  former  description  is  vague  and  exaggerated. 
Someone  has  said  that  an  advertisement  of  food  is  not  good 
unless  it  makes  your  ''mouth  water."  It  should  appeal  in  a 
most  lively  manner  to  the  sense  of  taste. 

Rules  for  the  Use  of  Descriptive  Phrases.  In  the  writing 
of  copy,  two  rules  should  be  borne  in  mind:  (1)  Use  words 
and  phrases  which  will  arouse  concrete  mental  images  in  the 
minds  of  the  readers.  (2)  For  articles  which  appeal  pri- 
marily to  a  certain  sense,  use  words  and  phrases  that  will 
emphasize  the  images  of  that  particular  sense.  For  example, 
descriptions  of  foods  should  arouse  taste  images,  descriptions 
of  musical  instruments  should  call  up  sound  pictures.  Adver- 
tisements of  clothing  may  make  strong  points  of  appearance 
and  style.  Advertisements  of  shoes  may  emphasize  touch  and 
comfort  to  the  feet.  Each  advertisement  should  appeal  to  the 
sense  or  senses  to  which  the  commodity  itself  appeals.  In 
the  case  of  direct,  personal  salesmanship,  the  article  itself  can 
be  seen,  heard,  touched,  tasted,  or  smelled,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  article.  The  customer  knows  exactly  what  it  is 
like.    In  salesmanship  through  print,  the  advertisement  must 

1.  For  a  more  complete  discussion  of  mental  Imagery,  the  reader  sbonld 
consult  the  treatises  on  psychology,  such  as  James,  p.  302, 


ABGUMENTATIVE  ADVESTISEMENTS  231 

stimulate  the  customer's  imagination  so  that  in  his  mind  he 
can  see,  hear,  touch,  taste,  or  smell  the  article. 

Too  Many  Generalities.  Advertising  is  replete  with 
vague  generalities,  such  as  "the  swellest  furniture,"  "the 
smile  of  satisfaction, "  "  the  best  breakfast  food  in  the  world, ' ' 
** latest,  greatest,  cheapest,"  and  many  more  to  be  found  in 
current  advertisements.  Descriptions  are  often  nothing  more 
than  a  mass  of  dead  verbiage  that  would  apply  to  one  com- 
modity as  well,  or  as  poorly,  as  to  any  other.  If  you  omit 
the  name  of  the  article  from  the  text  of  such  advertisements, 
you  could  not  possibly  guess  what  it  is  about.  Note  the 
following : 

Three  years  to  pay  for  the  celebrated The  best 

in  the  world  at  $ $1  weekly  or  $5  a  month.    No  cash  payment 

down.  No  interest.  No  freight  charges.  No  extras.  30  days'  free  trial 
in  your  own  home  and  we  pay  the  freight. 

We  want  you  to  sample  this for  a  month  to  convince  you 

that  it  is  the  best   in  the  world  at  $ We  guarantee 

a  saving  of  $ or  more  on  each   Eothschild  ten -year 

guarantee  bond  with  each 

We  don't  want  a  cent  from  you  until  you  are  satisfied.  If  you 
don 't  want  the we  will  send  for  it. 

We  own  the Co.  outright,  and  instead  of  paying  30  percent 

to  40  percent  commission  to  agents,  we  sell  direct  from  factory  to  you. 

Send  now  for  the book.    It 's  free.    It  shows  all 

grades  of   Beautifully  bound  in  colors.     A  postal  card  wUl 

bring  it. 

This  is  the  entire  text  of  an  advertisement  which  appeared 
in  a  standard  medium.  Nothing  is  omitted  except  the  name 
of  the  article  and  the  price.  This  text  was  shown  to  a  group 
of  persons  who  were  asked  to  state  what  they  thought  it  adver- 
tised. The  guesses  were,  washing  machine,  sectional  book 
cases,  stoves,  pianos,  sewing  machines,  and  encyclopedias. 
The  price  was  omitted,  because  that  would  give  a  clue  as  to 
the  general  class  of  the  article.  But  the  text  as  it  stands 
might  apply  to  almost  anything  you  please  by  simply  insert- 
ing the  appropriate  name  in  the  blank  spaces. 

The  above  text  was  used  in  the  advertisement  of  a  well- 


232 


ADVERTISING 


known  piano.  Not  a  word  is  said  about  tone  quality,  appear- 
ance of  the  instrument,  or  about  any  of  the  real  essentials  of 
a  piano,  concerning  which  a  discriminating  customer  wants 
to  know.  The  booklet,  on  the  other  hand,  is  referred  to  as 
"beautifully  bound  in  colors." 

Notice  the  examples  of  good  and  bad  descriptions  in  the 
illustrations  contained  in  this  chapter. 

Classes  of  Selling  Appeals.  We  may  classify  selling  ap- 
peals or  arguments  into  two  groups,   (a)   general  and   (b) 


No 

Mailer 
Where 


\bu  Live! 
What  you 
The  I.C.S.Can 

/fa/se  Your  Sa/arjr^ 


Figure  J 07 


specific.  By  general  selling  points  are  meant  all  those  which 
may  be  used  in  modified  form  with  almost  any  commodity.  By 
specific  selling  points  are  meant  all  those  which  apply  spe- 
cifically only  to  one  commodity. 

The  first  group  of  general  selling  points  consists  of  four 
main  sub-divisiOns :  First,  the  facts  relating  to  the  raw  mate- 
rial from  which  the  product  is  made.  Second,  the  facts  relat- 
ing to  the  workmanship  in  the  production  of  the  article. 


ARGUMENTATIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS 


233 


Third,  the  various  u^es  of  the  commodity.  Fourth,  the  price 
of  the  article.  These  four  types  of  general  appeals  may  be 
used  in  modified  form  with  almost  any  sort  of  commodity. 
Take,  as  an  example,  the  advertising  of  a  camera.  (1)  The 
advertisements  may  point  out  the  quality  of  the  material  that 
goes  into  the  making  of  the  camera,  such  as  the  wood,  alu- 
minum, the  kind  of  leather  for  the  case,  etc.  (2)  They  may 
make  strong  points  with  regard  to  the  skill  of  the  workman- 
ship involved  in  the  manufacture  of  the  lens,  the  shutter,  and 
other  mechanical  devices.     (3)  Likewise  the  various  uses  and 


Try  It  On 

BAKED  BEANS 


Soups,  Fish, 
Steaks,  Chops, 
Roast  Meats, 
Game,  Gravies 
and  Chafing  Dish 
Cooking.  They 
are  greatly  im- 
proved  by  using 


LEA  &  PERRINS 


SAUCE 


THE      ORIOIIMAU     WORCESTERSHIRE: 

It  adds  zest  to  every  meal  and  at  the  same  time  aids  digestion. 
For  four  generations  it  has  stood  unrivaled  as  a  seasoning. 

Shun  SubttitutCt.  Joik  Di«c»->  Son,  Apm,  N»  Tak 


FiGUBB   108 


the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  the  possession  of  a  camera 
may  be  "played  up"  in  different  ways.  (4)  The  cost  of  the 
camera  and  the  value  offered  for  the  particular  price  may 
be  pointed  out. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  same  sort  of  analysis  may 
be-  made  of  the  selling  points  for  advertisements  of  clothing, 
food,  furniture,  toilet  articles,  or  any  other  commodity. 

In  addition  to  these  general  points,  each  article  has  its 
own  individual  features  and  qualities  which  must  be  exhib- 
ited.   Advertisements  of  food  may  bring  out  its  sanitary  and 


234  ADVERTISING 

healthful  qualities,  its  taste,  its  nutritive  value,  convenience 
in  preparing  and  serving  it.  Advertisements  of  clothing  may 
emphasize  style,  tailoring,  color,  pattern,  wearing  quality,  etc. 

How  Obtain  Selling  Points.  How  may  these  selling 
points  be  obtained  ?  The  first  thing  that  the  copywriter  must 
do  is  to  make  a  thorough  and  detailed  study  of  the  article 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom.  He  should  know  all  about  the 
details  of  the  manufacturing  process,  the  source  and  quality 
of  the  raw  material,  the  methods  of  distribution ;  in  short,  he 
should  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  everything  that  may  in 
any  way  aid  him  in  making  the  most  efficient  appeal  in  his 
advertisements. 

In  some  large  manufacturing  plants  boxes  are  provided 
in  various  places  into  which  employees  may  put  suggestions 
that  come  to  them  from  their  particular  phase  of  the  work. 
In  other  places  the  advertising  manager  keeps  a  complete  card 
catalogue  of  all  selling  points  that  have  been  obtained  through 
analysis  and  study,  or  that  were  suggested  in  letters  from 
consumers  and  dealers. 

Use  Facts.  The  most  important  injunction  to  follow  is 
to  analyze  all  pertinent  points  and  then  to  use  the  essential, 
the  most  direct  facts.  Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid 
upon  the  use  of  definite,  undeniable  facts  in  the  preparation 
of  copy.  Many  advertisements  are  vague  and  general.  Actual 
facts  go  incomparably  farther  than  superlative  exaggeration 
toward  convincing  anyone  of  the  truthfulness  of  a  proposition. 

The  schoolmaster,!  not  so  very  long  ago,  had  occasion  to  test  the 
comparative  value  of  mere  enthusiastic  assertions  as  compared  with  state- 
ments of  actual  happenings.  The  first  advertisement  cited  no  case,  but 
assured  the  reader  that  such-and-such  was  the  case  and  that  so-and-so 
would  happen,  and  this  was  all  told  in  a  gingery  way  —  the  snappy, 
crackling,  spark-emitting  copy  that  many  are  fond  of.  The  other 
advertisement  related  actual  circumstances  that  proved  the  claims  made 
for  the  product,  and  the  headline  was  a  "news"  headline.  Maybe  the 
result  should  not  be  taken  as  an  invariable  rule,  but  in  this  particular 
case  the  second  piece  of  copy  pulled  twice  as  well  as  the  first. 

1.  Printer'a  Ink,  June  5,  1913,  p.  84. 


ABGUMENTATIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS  235 

PEOBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Make  an  analysis  of  some  argumentative  advertisement  and  point 
out  in  what  ways  the  following  steps  are  shown:  (1)  desirability 
of  the  article,  (2)  comparison  with  competing  articles,  (3)  means  of 
securing  the  article,  (4)  appeal  for  decision  and  response.  '  What 
criticisms  and  changes  would  you  suggest  in  the  text? 

2.  To  what  extent  would  it  be  feasible  to  make  comparisons  with 
competing  commodities?  What  is  the  practice  in  this  regard  among  high 
grade  advertisers?  What  objections  are  there  to  making  rather  obvious 
references  to  competing  commodities? 

3.  Under  what  conditions  might  the  statement  about  the  means  of 
securing  the  article  be  omitted  from  the  advertisement  ? 

4.  Should  the  price  of  a  commodity  always  be  given?  When  may  it 
be  omitted?  What  is  the  general  or  prevailing  practice  with  regard  to 
the  quoting  of  prices  in  advertisements?  Is  the  practice  different  for 
different  commodities?    Can  you  give  examples? 

5.  Make  an  analysis  of  the  advertisements  shown  in  Figs.  105  and 
106,  with  regard  to  the  use  of  appropriate  descriptive  words.  Point  out 
whether  they  are  too  general,  or  whether  they  really  give  you  a  mental 
picture  of  the  object.     Suggest  improvements. 

6.  Make  a  complete  list  of  good  selling  points  or  arguments  for  some 
one  commodity  or  firm,  which  could  be  used  in  advertisements.  (You  can 
use  to  advantage  some  local  firm  or  commodity  with  which  you  have 
intimate  acquaintance.) 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SUGGESTIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS:     METHODS  OF  KEYING 

Prominence  of  Suggestive  ^  Copy.  We  have  considered  at 
some  length  the  argumentative  "reason-why"  type  of  adver- 
tising. We  must  now  consider  the  reminding,  * '  suggestive ' ' 
type  of  advertising.  This  latter  style,  either  in  its  pure  form 
or  in  its  varying  combinations  with  argumentative  elements 
(see  page  223),  has  come  more  and  more  into  general  use  in 
recent  years.  This  increase  is  undoubtedly  due  in  part  to  its 
real  effectiveness,  in  part  to  better  methods  of  reproducing 
illustrations,  in  part  to  more  numerous  drawings  and  paint- 
ings available  for  commercial  purposes,  and  in  part  to  the 
wide  reputation  of  certain  commodities  for  which  argu- 
mentative copy  is  no  longer  essential  or  possibly  even  less 
effective  than  suggestive  copy. 

Types  of  Suggestive  Advertisements.  We  may  distinguish 
four  different  types  of  suggestive  advertisements  according 
to  the  degree  of  definiteness  of  the  suggestion. 

1.  Display  of  the  name  only.  The  purest  form  consists  of 
a  simple  presentation  of  the  name  without  comment  of  any 
sort.  An  example  of  this  class  is  shown  in  Figure  102.  The 
entire  advertisement  is  so  constructed  that  it  directs  atten- 
tion to  the  name  "Cream  of  Wheat"  and  its  trade  "char- 
acter." There  is  no  argument  or  description.  All  that  you 
see  is  a  matter  of  inference  based  on  your  past  acquaintance 
with  this  product.  The  sole  purpose  of  this  advertisement 
is  to  remind  you  of  the  name.  The  other  parts  of  the  adver- 
tisement simply  add  an  atmosphere  of  interest.  The  words 
"for  your  breakfast"  give  the  only  hint  of  the  nature  or  use 
of  the  article. 

2.  Quality  suggested  hy  elegant  surroundings.  The  sec- 
ond type,  besides  giving  the  name,  goes  one  step  further  by 

1.  The  word  "suggestive"  Is  not  altogether  appropriate,  but  it  is  used 
in  the  absence  of  a  better  word. 

236 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVEBTISEMENTS 


237 


suggesting  or  implying  indirectly  the  high  value  of  the 
article.  This  is  accomplished  by  presenting  the  product  in 
elegant  surroundings,  or  by  implying  a  wide  use  of  it  par- 
ticularly by  the  better  classes  of  society.    A  recent  adver- 


Big  Jobs 

Look 

Small 


Figure  109 
A  suggeFtive  advertisement  of  the  third  type.    See  the  text 

tisement  showed  a  Victrola  artistically  placed  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  White  House.  This  is  a  form  of  suggestion 
which  is  indirect  but  nevertheless  powerful  in  stimulating  a 
desire  for  possessing  and  enjoying  a  Victrola. 

3.  Quality  suggested  hy  use.     The  third  type  not  only  gives 
the  name  and  represents  the  commodity  in  attractive  sur- 


238  ADVEBTISING 

Foundings  but  goes  still  another  step  further  by  exhibiting  the 
article  in  actual  use  and  thus  suggesting  its  value  and 
desirability.  A  typical  illustration  of  this  class  is  presented 
in  Figure  109,  which  exhibits  the  maid  in  a  neat,  orderly 
home  applying  the  cleanser  to  the  floor.     Another  recent 


Take  a 

^KODAK 

With  you 

i  atalo^nf  frrr  at  jtyrtr  tlrAhrs,  oi  f'v  w.ii7, 
tASIMAN   KODAK   COMI'ANV.   K.uiumi.k.  N.  V.,  i  „  K.d.i  ci,. 


Figure  110 

A  suggestive  advertisement  of  the  fourth  type,  using  the  direct 

command 

advertisement  showed  a  family  happily  gathered  in  their 
beautiful  home  enjoying  the  music  of  a  Victrola. 

The  psychological  strength  of  this  type  of  advertising  lies 
in  its  potent  appeal  to  the  imitative  tendency  in  human 
nature.  We  like  to  follow  the  lead  of  others,  particularly 
if  social  superiority  and  prestige  are  thereby  attainable. 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS  239 

4.  The  direct  command.  The  fourth  type  takes  the  final 
step  in  suggestion  by  giving  a  definite  command  to  use  the 
article  or  to  do  a  definite  act  toward  obtaining  it.  This 
command  may  be  stated  directly,  as  in  a  recent  camera 
advertisement,  ''Take  a  Kodak  with  you"  (Figure  110)  ;  or 
indirectly,  as  in  the  well-known  soap  advertisements,  ''Good 
morning,  have  you  used  Pears'  soap?"  Each  form  has  a 
certain  advantage,  according  to  the  particular  conditions 
under  which  it  is  used. 

Effectiveness  of  Suggestive  Advertising.  Our  next  ques- 
tion is,  What  evidence  do  we  have  to  show  that  suggestive 
advertising  is  really  effective  ?  There  are  those  who  believe 
that  pure  publicity  advertising  is  "poor"  publicity  and 
that  the  only  style  of  advertising  worth  while  is  the  argu- 
mentative style. 

In  the  first  place,  the  argument  that  suggestive  copy  is 
profitable  is  given  weight  by  the  fact  that  its  use  has  steadily 
increased  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  Many  firms  whose 
products  are  widely  known  resort  very  largely  to  this  type 
of  copy.  They  have  experimented  with  suggestive  adver- 
tising for  a  sufficient  time  to  be  convinced  that  it  brings 
results.  Notable  examples  of  firms  or  commodities  adver- 
tised at  the  present  time  largely  through  suggestive  copy 
are  the  Kodak,  Cream  of  Wheat,  Gold  Medal  Flour,  Old 
Dutch  Cleanser,  Pears'  Soap,  Royal  Typewriters,  Kellogg 's 
Corn  Flakes. 

In  the  second  place,  human  nature  is  influenced  in  every 
day  action  at  least  as  much  by  suggestion  and  imitation  as 
by  reason  and  deliberation.  Imitation  is  often  supreme  in 
determining  the  spread  of  fashion,  custom,  manners  and 
social  usages,  pronunciation,  slang,  and  the  like.  We  may 
refer  here  to  the  contest  conducted  in  the  fall  of  1909  by 
Colgate  &  Company  ^  in  which  an  advertisement  was  pub- 
lished containing  smaller  reproductions  of  two  advertise- 
ments of  dental  cream.  See  Figure  111.  The  one  was  largely 
argumentative  and  the  other  primarily  suggestive.    A  similar 

^Printer's  Ink,  Jan.  12,  1910,  p.  10. 


240 


ADFEETISINO 


WHICH  IS  THE  BETTER  «AD"? 

$750.00  for  the  Best  Answers 

(Fiffy-eight  Prixes) 


1   First    Prize   of   $100.00 

lO  Fourth  Prizes  of  $15.00  each 

2  Second  Prizes  of  $50.00  each 

IS  Fifth  Prizes  of      $10.00  each 

5  Third  Prizes  of  $25.00  each 

25  Sixth  Prizes  of     $5.00     each 

WKirt  M  m  aood  wKcrtiMme>it>  H^mn  tkot  watt,  and  «re  wut  yov 
toteUu^  ^^ 

A«k  iM  wW  a  Kood  toilet  or  ahaving  soap,  perfume,  dental  creaip  or 
•oilet  and  naraery  powder  i»  and  we  con  lell  you. 

TKiee  B^nerations  of  Colgate*,  from  father  to  •on.  for  over  a  century 
have  been  conducting  thit  bustncM  under  the  Gslgate  name.  We  i^notf 
Ikow  toilet  articlea  should  be  made,  and  we  are  making  them  that  way. 

For  many  yean  also  we  have  been  making  advertisement* — cood.. 
■  -  .  WeoorAi 


-T-*"--  ifaat  wa  Mill  have  muck  to  lea 
to  nllfi  tKa  Colgate  spirit.  It  oufcf 
•gjMataiten.  k  Otlght  to  convince  y- 
golulily  tnrtMul  or  it  cannot  be  a  Colgate  Advertisement 

WW  kind  ot  an  adveitiaemeitl  be«  fulfill*  tfaeae  conditioM> 


We  bc&cT*  tWt  ytm  can  teO  m  wd  wtt  Uvb  uIbm  tUa  ■■HioJ 
cf  gvttinc  yoor  opioioii. 

Above  are  two  Colgate  adverliaemeikta  ol  entirely  diferent  chaiactec. 
No.  I  IB  pictoriaL    Ita  value  depends  upon  its  suggestive  power. 
No.  2  is  deacriptiva,     k  goee  into' detaila  about  oar  Dental  Cream  aad 
the  Ribbon  Tube.  , 

^ _,  fib/A  kinds  of  adveiti«ng  kav*  gtvaa  w  ratokii  boiH  hmv  baan  favosk. 

i^mel'hing  abij^it  thiin.  "But— we       "tly  commented  upon. 


But  which  aalla  tha  man  Dwiil  Crmm7 
AC  and   interest  you  in  Ha  It  is  to  you  that  we  aia  advaflMing  and  it  b  from  pan  that  we  want  tba 

text     And  it  miu/  be  ab-        aiwwer  because  we  beUevc  dut  yo«l  (Atf  m«jocky  of  you)  know  far  better 

than  the  beet  advertiMng  "cipcit'  juM  nmt  lopd.  of  an  aJviitiiwninl 

influencice  you  to  purchaaa. 


This  Is  Our  Offer 


kppad  if  you  do  becauaa  wa  oalieve  that  we  can  -racog 


Yon  don't  liavy>  to  know  anything  about 


■ppeal  to  purcha»  which  l 
Vve  ue  your  reaaona 

The  letters  which  ^«a  di*  Skoat  c 
adveniMag  to  compaCc.  in  fact  you'll  ba  handicapped  if  you  <i 
that  view  point  that  wa  Jm't  wane  * 

Prizes  will  be  Awarded  by  the  Following  Jadges: 

Mr.  CASFVUt  WWTNEY.  Audior  and  Editor,  CoHier'a  Weekly  MR.  KesTH  EVANS.  Adveffiaiiw  Manner  of  Woman's  HotnC  Companioo 

Mrs.  N.  H.  KNUUD.  AsMtant  Editor  of  The  Detinealor  MR.  FIlAMK  SEAMAN.  AdvuftaMng  Agent 

Gmtest  doaea  on  Norember  t  1909.     All  letter*  muat  be  received  on  or  before  that  <Ut&    IX^rite  6n  but  one  nde  of  paper  ancl'tigq^ 
letter  plainly  with  your  fuD  name  and  addreaa,  which  will  not  be  counted  in  the  "ooa  hundred  wrorda."     Direct  your  letter  thua— 

DepL  H,  (Content)  COLGATE  &  CO.,  S6  John  Street,  New  York 

Maiden  of  the  famoaa  Cashmen  Bouquet  Toilet  Soap 
I  Home  Companion.  Delim      . ..  _. 

Figure  111 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVEBTISEMENTS  241 

advertisement  for  their  Talc  Powder  was  also  published. 
These  two  contest  advertisements  appeared  in  the  Ladies' 
Home  Journal,  Woman's  Home  Companion  and  the  Butterick 
trio.  Colgate  &  Company  desired  to  make  a  test  campaign 
to  determine  the  relative  value  of  suggestive  and  argumen- 
tative copy.  They  therefore  offered  prizes  for  the  best  brief 
essays  telling  which  of  the  two  advertisements  shown  in 
Figure  111  was  considered  the  better,  and  why.  Approxi- 
mately 60,000  letters  were  received.  These  fell,  curiously 
enough,  into  two  almost  equal  groups.  About  one-half  of 
the  correspondents  considered  the  argumentative  advertise- 
ment better  and  the  rest  considered  the  suggestive  adver- 
tisement better.  Hence  the  latter  apparently  stands  in  as 
high  favor  with  the  consumer  as  the  former. 

In  the  third  place,  the  results  of  some  tests  may  be  cited 
which  show  that  the  chief  impression  created  through  adver- 
tising is  the  remembrance  of  the  name  of  the  product.  The 
author  requested  a  class  of  students  to  make  a  list  of  all 
commodities  with  which  they  were  familiar,  through  use, 
advertising,  or  any  other  means,  and  then  to  state  what  par- 
ticular features  they  remembered  about  them.  A  typical 
record  follow^s: 

Cream  of  Wheat Lack  of  reading  matter. 

Spearmint  Gum The  arrow  pictures. 

Overland  automobiles The  red  borders  of  ads. 

Goodyear  tires Novel  photographs  in  the  ads. 

Ford  Automobiles Statistics  connected  with  the  Ford. 

Oliver    typewriter 17c  a  week. 

Ivory   soap 99%  pure. 

Angelus    players Odd  pictures. 

Columbia  phonograph Large  type  and  pictures. 

Prince  Albert  tobacco Cool. 

Indian  motorcycles Eed  Print. 

Arrow  collars Inhuman  men  in  pictures. 

Pears '    soap Picture  of  soap. 

Fairy  soap The  little  girl. 

Gold  Dust The  twins. 

Omar  cigarettes Good  illustration. 

From  the  various  lists  obtained,  it  is  evident  that  the  item 
most  commonly  remembered  is  the  name,  and  that  more  rarely 
is  a  definite  argument  or  selling  point  remembered.     In  not 


242  ADVERTISING 

more  than  20%  of  the  commodities  listed  was  a  specific  selling 
argument  mentioned.  Most  of  the  features  mentioned  relate 
to  attention  or  interest  elements  or  to  the  construction  of 
the  advertisement.  The  significant  point  to  notice  here  is  that 
the  retention  of  the  name  of  a  commodity  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  is  the  prime  achievement  of  the  advertisement.  And 
for  many  commodities  the  suggestive,  human  interest  adver- 
tisement can  secure  this  name-retention  more  effectively  than 
the  lengthy  argumentative  advertisement. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  effectiveness  of  suggestion  in 
advertising  is  indicated  by  the  pulling  power  of  the  direct 
command  used  in  connection  with  the  return  coupon.  When 
Professor  Scott  ^  pointed  out  some  years  ago  the  possible 
value  of  the  direct  command,  several  advertisers  began  to 
use  it  in  various  forms  in  their  publicity  and  found  that  it 
greatly  increased  the  returns.  The  Franklin  Mills  Company, 
manufacturers  of  Wheatlet,  used  the  suggestion,  "Sit  right 
down  and  write  for  a  sample  of  Wheatlet,"  and  found  that 
this  advertisement  brought  far  greater  returns  than  any 
one  they  had  ever  published  before.  The  Delineator  made 
very  profitable  use  of  the  command,  "Just  get  the  Delin- 
eator," to  stimulate  the  growth  of  its  circulation. 

W.  A.  Shryer  cites  an  interesting  case  in  which  he  used 
two  half-page  advertisements,  alike  in  every  particular  with 
the  exception  that  one  had  a  coupon  in  the  lower  right  hand 
corner  while  the  other  had  a  portrait  of  a  man  instead.  The 
advertisement  without  the  coupon,  appearing  in  October, 
brought  41  inquiries  at  a  cost  of  $1.83  per  inquiry.  The 
other  one  with  the  coupon,  appearing  in  May,  brought  83 
inquiries  at  a  cost  of  90  cents  per  inquiry.  Thus  the  adver- 
tisement with  the  coupon  brought  twice  as  many  returns 
as  the  one  without  the  coupon.  Various  circumstances  might 
enter  here  which  would  affect  the  net  advantage  of  the  sec- 
ond over  the  first.  However,  allowance  was  made  for  such 
circumstances.  Thus,  both  advertisements  were  published 
in  the  same  medium,  and  they  were  separated  by  a  suflfi- 

1.  Scott,  W.  D.,  Theory  of  Advertising,  p.  76, 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVEBTISEMENTS  243 

ciently  long  interval  of  time  to  avoid  a  carrying  over  of  the 
effect  of  the  first  to  the  results  of  the  second.^ 
Another  recent  case  is  the  following : 

The  Pedlar  People,  Ltd.,  of  Oshawa,  Ontario,  manufacturers  of  archi- 
tectural sheet-metal  building  material,  are  using  a  novel  coupon  in  their 
farm-paper  advertising,  which  they  claim  has  practically  doubled  the 
inquiries.  Briefly,  the  coupon  includes  a  diagram  of  the  two  types  of 
barns  common  in  Canada,  with  dimension  lines,  so  that  the  farmer  can 
fill  in  the  dimensions  and  get  an  estimate  from  the  manufacturer  as  to 
the  cost  of  sheathing  his  barn  with  steel  shingles. 

In  explaining  the  benefits  of  the  coupon,  A.  T.  Enlow,  advertising 
manager  of  the  coucern,  says :  '  *  Our  long  experience  with  the  farmer  has 
convinced  us  that  he  will  read  anything  half-way  interesting,  but  he  will 
not  go  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  writing  letters.  No  doubt  this  is 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  his  stationery  is  of  an  uncertain  quality,  the 
ink  dried  up  and  the  pen  rusted.  We  figure  that  by  making  it  easy  for 
him  to  write  in  and  find  out  what  it  would  cost  to  steel  shingle  his  bam 
we  would  save  him  a  lot  of  figuring  and  at  the  same  time  the  associa- 
tion of  ideas  would  bring  results.  As  a  result  we  find  we  are  getting 
more  than  twice  the  number  of  inquiries  from  the  same  space  as  we  did 
before  we  adopted  this  diagram  idea. ' '  2 

Psychological  Factors  in  the  Coupon.  The  effectiveness 
of  the  coupon  may  be  attributed  to  the  following  psycho- 
logical reasons:  First,  it  attracts  attention  by  its  novel 
appearance.  It  is  usually  placed  diagonally  in  a  corner  or 
otherwise  set  off  by  lines  to  make  it  conspicuous  in  the- 
advertisement.  Second,  it  suggests  definite  action.  A  fun- 
damental tendency  of  human  nature  is  to  carry  out  definitely 
suggested  action.  Tell  any  one  to  "look  here"  and  almost 
invariably  he  will  ''look  here."  Third,  the  coupon  makes 
it  easy  to  answer  an  advertisement  or  to  inquire  about  an 
article.  The  letter  is  written  for  the  reader;  he  merely 
needs  to  sign  his  name. 

Any  conditions  which  facilitate  these  factors  will  tend 
to  increase  the  strength  of  the  coupon.  Among  these  we 
might  mention  the  placing  of  the  coupon  on  the  corner  so 
that  it  may  be  torn  off  readily,  or  the  insertion  of  an  index 

1.  System,  December.  1913.  n.  579. 

2.  Printer's  Ink,  April  30,  1914,  p.  54. 


244 


ADVERTISING 


finger  pointing  to  the  line  along  which  it  is  to  be  torn  off, 
or  sufficiently  large  blank  spaces  for  filling  in  the  desired 
information.  A  coupon  inserted  in  the  center  of  the  page 
or  next  to  the  binding  cannot  be  removed  easily. 


.cUI- 


F^^INATION  COUPON 

i— A-- 


wO. 


^o^TL'L 


^u  Street  (^ 
..«  TOM 


.^<.r^.]^ 


Nbw  Yo«k  N 


156  FifTM  AviNtn.  Nbw  Yo«k. 
Me«w  (end  im  your   LMrdopadic   DtctioMrr.  bMad 

in iMAdiBg.     II  ■poo  iMpcfiion  tbt  w«rfc 

)i  Wttsfsctory.  1  afrc*  lo  forward  00a  duflaf  promptU  Md  p*r  tiM 
I  ia  acconUK*  wiih  the  tov^  »'  'kU  apccMl  oiler. 


.  ...lopiB^ia  •"(■  ■•  Diotlonanr. 
JUir    AS    THftV  LOOK 

Hfot  but  ft  record  for  faiihVulness.    Ue'i 
fo 


Your  Opportunity  Coupdn 


•rf   The    tt»ci 

RwwU    ftiM     Si 
F>U  SW«»,  irf  . 


iKy  fnMvwt 


I     iMtt 

;'ii- 

..VW.  IM  M|.««       ■     to  fc 

■  ■liilt.Ww  t.t I 


Free 
Grapon 


l^lliilMfl.lIf      Ata.  M.4  ■.  fcM  1 
i>li.MI  I.   bM««M   kMfe    rtii m   Ik 

MlMl&MiMtaM.  mtm.  immt,  Mc    Al 


nd    CHiiiorv 


Figure  112 

Above  will  be  found  various  types  of  coupons.    Coupon  C  is  the 

center  of  the  advertisement.     B  has  a  direct  command  placed 

along  the  line  of  detachment.     It  is  reinforced  by  the  index 

finger.     E  has  a  dotted  line  reinforced  by  the  command 


Principles  Underlying  Suggestive  Advertising.  What  is 
the  fundamental  cause  of  the  forcefulness  of  suggestion  in 
determining  human  behavior?     To  begin   with,  we   must 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVEBTISEMENTS  245 

realize  that  our  actions  are  determined  far  more  by  sug- 
gestion and  imitation  than  we  commonly  believe.  The 
human  being  is  as  much  superior  to  lower  animals  in  his 
tendency  to  imitate  as  he  is  in  any  other  trait.  The  gen- 
erally accepted  belief  in  the  imitativeness  of  apes  has  been 
proved  by  recent  investigations  to  be  utterly  erroneous. 
The  human  being  is  far  more  imitative  than  any  animal. 
It  is  this  trait  which  makes  him  more  educable. 

The  Ideo-motor  Principle.  At  the  bottom  of  suggestion 
and  imitation  lies  the  basic  law  of  human  nature  that  ideas 
tend  toward  action.  Normally  every  idea,  sensation,  impres- 
sion, or  suggestion  tends  to  produce  its  appropriate  response. 
The  entire  organization  of  mental  life  and  its  neural  mech- 
anism is  constructed  on  this  basis.  Incoming  nerve  currents 
from  the  sense-organs  are  redirected  outward  to  the  muscles. 
The  meaning  of  the  ideo-motor  law  is  that  impression  nor- 
mally leads  to  expression  without  intervening  deliberation 
or  voluntary  decision.  The  idea,  impression,  or  stimulus 
alone  is  sufficient  to  cause  action.  Numerous  examples  in 
daily  life  can  be  observed  by  everyone.  If  you  are  reading 
and  a  fly  alights  on  your  hand,  the  touch  alone  is  sufficient 
to  cause  you  to  move  your  hand  without  the  intervention  of 
will.  Or,  if  you  see  only  indirectly  out  of  the  ''corner  of 
your  eye"  some  particles  of  dust  on  your  coat  sleeve,  the 
visual  impression  of  it  causes  the  other  hand  to  brush  it 
away — all  possibly  without  the  slightest  interruption  in  the 
reading. 

Another  example  of  the  ideo-motor  principle  is  the  uni- 
versal experience  of  so-called  inner  speech  which  accompa- 
nies thinking  or  reading.  The  vocal  organs  make  miniature 
movements  in  pronouncing  the  words  that  would  express  the 
thought  processes  in  the  mind.  The  ideas  in  the  mind  tend 
to  produce  motor  responses. 

Many  additional  illustrations  might  be  given  to  demon- 
strate the  force  of  this  principle  as  it  operates  in  muscle 
reading,  the  planchette,  the  psychology  of  the  crowd,  imita- 
tion in  fashions,  and  the  like.    In  the  preceding  chapter  an 


246  ADVERTISING 

experiment  was  cited  to  show  the  unconscious  imitation  in 
handwriting.^ 

The  application  of  this  law  to  suggestive  copy  is  evident. 
An  idea  impressed  by  advertisements  will  tend  to  produce 
a  response,  just  as  in  other  forms  of  human  behavior.  The 
repeated  seeing  and  hearing  of  the  name  of  an  article  alone 
will  tend  to  produce  a  desire  for  procuring  it.  Similarly,  the 
constant  seeing  of  commodities  displayed  in  shop  windows 
will  tend  to  make  the  spectator  buy.  If  a  clerk  presents  two 
or  three  brands  of  the  same  kind  of  food  the  customer  will, 
other  things  being  equal,  buy  the  brand  of  which  he  knows 
the  name  or  with  which  he  has  some  acquaintance. 

Suggestive  copy,  then,  is  based  upon  the  ideo-motor  prin- 
ciple. It  aims  to  impress  the  name  and  to  surround  it  with 
an  atmosphere  of  worth  and  desirability.  The  repetition  of 
the  name  and  the  display  of  the  commodity  in  various 
advertisements  will  increase  the  momentum  of  the  ideo-motor 
impulse  until  it  finally  takes  effect.  This  is  the  answer  to 
the  question.  Why  is  the  suggestive,  "name-before-the- 
public"  type  of  advertising  effective? 

Methods  of  "Keying."  The  return  coupon  was  origin- 
ally used  by  many  firms  as  a  means  of  keying  or  ascertaining 
the  number  of  inquiries  brought  by  their  advertisements  in 
the  various  mediums  used.  We  may,  therefore,  digress  for 
a  moment  to  examine  the  different  methods  of  keying  now 
employed. 

The  earliest  method,  which  is  even  now  in  use,  consisted 
of  the  request  printed  at  the  bottom  of  the  advertising 
pages,  "Please  mention  this  magazine  when  writing  to 
advertisers."  The  method  is  rather  unreliable,  because 
many  inquirers  do  not  respond  to  the  request. 

The  second  method  uses  the  coupon,  in  which  a  key  is 
placed  in  some  inconspicuous  position.  Coupon  A  in  Figure 
112  contains  the  abbreviation  "T.W.  5-14."  This  symbol 
identifies  this  particular  piece  of  copy.  It  means  "Technical 
World,  May,  1914."     A  different  type  of  key  is  shown  in 

1.  The  Interested  reader  may  consult  the  special  treatises  on  the  psychol- 
ogy of  suggestion. 


SUGGESTIVE  ADVERTISEMENTS  247 

coupon  B,  which  has  the  number  465  in  the  upper  corner. 
Each  piece  of  copy  relating  to  the  same  commodity  has  a 
different  number. 

The  third  method  consists  in  a  change  of  address.  A 
firm  located  on  State  street  in  a  given  city  may  use  the 
number,  150  State  St.,  151  State  St.,  152  State  St.,  etc.,  in 
its  different  advertisements.  Or,  the  name  John  Jones  and 
Company  may  be  printed  as  John  A.  Jones  and  Company,  or 
as  John  B.  Jones  and  Company,  etc. 

The  fourth  method  makes  use  of  a  department  or  cata- 
logue number,  employing  such  variations  as  the  following: 
'"Write  to  Jones  and  Company,  Dept.  A,'.'  "Dept.  B," 
"Dept.  C,"  etc.  Or,  instead  of  department,  the  word  "Cata- 
logue A,"  "Catalogue  B,"  etc.,  may  be  used. 

Mail  order  houses,  using  a  large  number  of  mediums, 
have  the  problem  of  devising  a  keying  system  which  shall 
be  flexible  enough  to  cover  all  the  different  pieces  of  copy 
inserted  in  all  the  mediums  used  at  one  time.  A  rather 
elaborate  system  is  described  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Clifford,  as 
follows:^ 

After  much  experimentation  we  finally  developed  a  system  that  not 
only  completely  meets  every  demand  made  upon  it,  but  has  the  advantage 
of  being  extremely  simple.  The  system  is  a  combination  of  single  letters 
of  the  alphabet  and  numerals  starting  with  10  and  ending  with  99.  In 
starting  the  system  the  list  of  mediums  is  arranged  in  alphabetical 
order,  for  example:     Argosy,  Advanced  Style,  Blue  Boole,  etc. 

Each  piece  of  copy  to  be  run  is  then  given  a  number,  starting  with 
10.  The  reason  for  starting  with  10  is  in  order  to  make  each  key  occupy 
a  uniform  space  in  the  advertisement  —  a  great  advantage  where  key 
numbers  are  inserted  in  advertisements  after  they  have  been  electrotyped. 

The  key  for  each  publication  is  built  up  in  this  way:  As  Argosy 
comes  first  on  the  list  it  is  given  the  starting  number  of  10.  Then  the 
first  letter  in  Argosy  is  added,  making  it  read  10 A.  Suppose  that  the 
first  piece  of  copy  in  the  set  —  also  numbered  10  —  is  run  in  the  Argosy, 
this  makes  the  complete  key  for  Argosy  and  the  first  piece  of  copy  in  the 
set  read  lOAlO. 

If  the  second  piece  in  the  set  is  run  in  the  following  issue  of  Argosy, 
the  key  for  that  issue  reads  lOAll. 

Advanced  Style,  being  the  second  on  the  list,  is  consequently  given 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  April  16,  1914,  p.  24. 


248  ADVERTISING 

key  number  11.  If  the  first  piece  of  copy  is  run  in  this  medium,  the  key 
reads  IIAIO;  for  the  second  piece  of  copy  llAll;  for  the  third  piece 
of  copy  11A12,  and  so  on. 

As  each  medium  is  given  a  key  number,  it  is  not  strictly  necessary 
for  the  mechanical  working  of  the  system  to  include  in  the  key  the  first 
letter  in  the  name  of  the  medium.  There  is  a  strong  reason,  however, 
for  doing  so,  for  experience  has  shown  that  while  persons  answering 
advertisements  will  willingly  quote  a  key  such  as  lOAll.  they  are  averse 
to  quoting  a  key  that  reads  1011.  What  this  reason  is,  I  am  unable  to 
explain,  except  that  possibly  a  set  of  four  figures,  unbroken  by  a  letter, 
is  confusing  to  the  eye,  especially  when  run  in  small  type  and  printed 
on  the  cheap  stock  used  by  most  of  the  mail  order  publications.  Another 
reason  is  that  even  where  people  mention  the  key  consisting  of  say  four 
figures,  they  frequently  make  mistakes  in  copying  it,,  possibly  for  the 
reason  explained. 

The  system  is  extremely  flexible  in  that  it  can  be  used  equally  well 
to  care  for  either  a  small  or  a  large  number  of  publications  and  pieces 
of  copy.     The  outside  number  of  publications  it  will  care  for  is  2340, 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Under  what  conditions  would  you  use  suggestive  advertisements t 
Analyze  as  fully  as  you  can  all  the  factors  that  would  have  to  be  taken 
into  account.  In  this  connection  make  a  study  of  the  advertising  of 
several  firms  which  largely  use  suggestive  copy.  How  does  your  analysis 
of  factors  apply  to  their  advertising? 

2.  Mention  from  your  own  experience  several  illustrations  of  the 
ideo-motor  principle,  other  than  those  mentioned  in  the  text. 

3.  Make  a  collection  of  several  commands,  direct  or  indirect,  used 
in  advertisements.  Compare  them  so  as  to  determine  which  ones  appeal 
to  you  most  strongly.    State  why. 

4.  Study  the  construction  of  a  number  of  coupons.  In  what  ways 
are  they  faulty?    Suggest  improvements. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

TESTING  THE  STEENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS 

The  Need  of  Testing.  Can  the  strength  or  "pulling 
power"  of  an  advertisement  be  tested  befor-e  it  is  used? 
Every  machine,  every  commodity,  is  thoroughly  tested  before 
it  is  put  upon  the  market.  A  cream  separator  or  a  gasoline 
engine  is  operated  for  a  certain  number  of  hours  and  thor- 
oughly tried  out  before  it  leaves  the  factory.  We  ought  to  be 
able  to  do  the  same  thing  with  an  advertisement.  We  ought 
to  be  able  to  determine  the  probability  of  success  of  an  adver- 
tisement before  it  is  used. 

Various  Methods.  Many  attempts  to  do  this  have  been 
made.  One  method  has  been  to  construct  ten  or  more  different 
advertisements  of  a  given  commodity,  and  to  send  them  to 
several  competent  persons  for  their  independent  criticisms 
and  suggestions.  When  the  advertisements  have  been  re- 
turned, the  ideas  of  these  critics  are  embodied  in  two  or  three 
greatly  improved  advertisements.  This  is  a  crude  method, 
but  it  is  far  better  than  relying  merely  on  one's  own 
judgment. 

Another  method  is  to  make  a  preliminary  canvass  of  the 
consumers  of  the  article  in  order  to  discover  the  points  and 
facts  that  interest  them  most,  the  facts  that  will  influence 
them  most  toward  purchasing  the  commodity.  This  scheme 
is  used  very  frequently  whenever  a  campaign  of  any  consid- 
erable extent  is  being  prepared.  In  some  instances  hundreds 
of  dollars  are  spent  on  such  a  preliminary  canvass.  If  a  new 
article  of  food  is  to  be  iiitroduced,  an  expert  advertising  man 
may  go  from  house  to  house  to  interview  the  housekeepers.  In 
this  manner  he  will  discover  the  difficulties  and  objections,  as 
well  as  the  strong  points,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  consumer. 
With  this  information  at  hand,  a  campaign  can  be  outlined 
which  will  be  reasonably  sure  of  success. 

249 


250  ADVEBTISING 

Still  another  "try-out"  method  is  to  run  an  experimental 
campaign  on  a  small  scale,  and  in  territory  that  is  representa- 
tive of  the  larger  area  to  be  covered  later.  The  results,  dif- 
ficulties, and  factors  thus  discovered  form  the  basis  for  the 
preparation  of  the  extensive  campaign.  This  method  is  in 
many  respects  the  most  satisfactory,  as  it  tests  the  pulling 
power  of  each  advertisement  under  actual  conditions.  All  of 
these  schemes  have  their  disadvantages  and  objections,  but 
any  one  of  them  is  undoubtedly  better  than  a  haphazard, 
hit  or  miss  plunge. 

A  fourth  method,  a  sort  of  clinical  method,  has  been  sug- 
gested and  used.  It  is  technically  called  the  "order  of  merit 
method,"  and  consists  of  arranging  a  group  of  objects  in  a 
graded  series  of  ascending  or  descending  values.  For  exam- 
ple, you  might  take  ten  samples  of  handwriting  and  arrange 
them,  as  they  appeal  to  you,  in  the  order  of  their  quality 
or  beauty  from  the  poorest  to  the  best.  Later,  you  might  ask 
twenty-five  other  persons  to  rank  them  independently.  The 
average  of  these  rankings  would  be  a  quite  reliable  measure  of 
the  relative  values  of  these  samples  of  writing. 

This  method  has  been  used  satisfactorily  for  measuring  the 
agreeableness  of  colors.  A  group  of  ten  colors  may  be  ranked 
in  an  ascending  series  of  attractiveness.  If  an  average  is 
obtained  from  the  rankings  made  by  a  hundred  persons,  or 
by  several  thousand,  as  has  been  done  in  the  case  of  colors, 
you  obtain  a  highly  accurate  measurement. 

An  Ulustration  of  the  Order  of  Merit  Test.  The  order 
of  merit  method  has  been  used  for  testing  advertisements  and 
apparently  with  considerable  success  in  the  several  instances 
in  which  it  has  been  tried.  As  an  example  of  how  this  method 
may  be  used  to  determine  the  probable  pulling  power  of  dif- 
ferent advertisements,  the  following  test,  made  with  120  men, 
is  cited: 

Nine  clothing  advertisements  were  used.  These  were  taken, 
either  entirely  or  in  part,  from  current  advertising  mediums. 
Each  piece  of  copy  emphasized  chiefly  one  appeal  or  selling 
point.     Each  one  was  given  a  fictitious  name  so  as  to  avoid 


TESTING  STRENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  251 

identification.     They  were  all  printed  in  uniform  type  on 
one  sheet  of  paper  as  follows: 

No.  1 

To  the  young  man  in  business,  friends  are  of  greatest  value.  No.  1 
clothes  make  friends  on  the  road,  in  the  office,  everywhere.  They  give 
the  professional  young  man  a  prestige  ordinary  clothes  can  never  give. 
Successful  young  men  prefer  No.  1  clothes,  and  No.  1  clothes  contribute 
largely  to  make  young  men  successful.  Whatever  you  do,  wear  No.  1 
clothes.    For  young  men. 

No.  2 

Wear  a  No.  2.  The  best  in  men's  clothes.  Write  for  book  of  New 
York  fashions.    No.  2  &  Co.,  New  York. 


No.  3 

Do  you  know  what  it  is  that  keeps  your  clothes  looking  well  even 
after  a  whole  season's  wear?  It's  the  most  important  thing  to  know 
about  clothes.  All-wool  fabrics  first;  there  are  plenty  of  clothes  that 
are  not  all  wool.  Scientific  shrinking  by  cold  water;  a  process  that 
cotton  mixtures  can't  stand.  The  best  tailoring;  skilled  hands  shaping 
the  garment,  not  just  sewing  the  seams  together.  These  are  the  things 
you  get  when  you  buy  our  clothes. 

No.  3  &  Co.,  Good  Clothes  Makers. 

No.  4 

A  wonderfully  good  blue  serge  suit  at  $15.  All  No.  4  clothes  are 
good  clothes  —  America's  one  guaranteed  all-wool  line  at  $10  to  $25. 
But  this  season's  special  at  $15  is  by  far  the  best  blue  serge  we've  ever 
put  out  at  the  price.  With  correct  style  and  accurate  fit  it  gives  you 
such  a  serge  as  usually  goes  only  into  suits  at  $20  or  more  —  a  soft,  even 
twill  and  a  rich,  permanent  indigo  dye. 


No.  5 

This  is  ' '  Spring 's  Awakening  "  —  a  good  time  to  revive  interest  in 
your  clothes.  Our  clothes  help  to  make  good  acquaintances ;  they  are  good 
clothes  to  get  acquainted  with. 

The  No.  5  Clothing  House. 


252  ADVEBTISINO 


No.  6 

With  sweatshop  misery  left  out.  A  new  light  on  clothes  and  their 
making.  A  mental  picture  that  comes  with  the  thought  of  clothes- 
making  is  that  of  dirty,  clingy  sweatshops  where  misery  and  poverty 
prevail.  Exactly  the  opposite  of  these  conditions  are  those  of  the 
famous  No.  6  plant  —  a  contrast  similar  to  that  which  exists  between 
No.  6  and  other  clothes.  Ideal  working  conditions,  matchless  facilities 
for  good  clothes-making,  the  ablest  skill  of  the  tailoring  craft.  These 
are  the  factors  behind  the  fame  of  the  No."  6  plant  —  the  finest  tailoring 
institution  in  the  world  today. 

No.  7 

You  will  find  No.  7's  where  the  best  clothes  in  your  town  are  sold. 
Always  in  the  hands  of  a  reliable  merchant.  Ask  his  advice  as  to  the 
greatest  clothes  economy  —  whether  it  is  wiser  to  pay  the  No.  7  price 
or  pay  less  and  get  cheap  clothes.  Mind  you,  there  is  no  greater  profit 
for  the  merchant  in  No.  7  clothes,  but  there  is  more  profit  for  you. 

No.  7  &  Co, 


No.  8 

Is  your  next  suit  or  overcoat  to  be  a  No.  8?  The  No.  8  &  Co.  label 
means  56  years  of  knowing  how. 

No.  9. 

Clothes  that  make  good.  You  young  men  are  strong  for  style  in 
your  clothes;  got  to  have  the  smart,  lively  ideas;  it's  apt  to  be  the  most 
important  thing  to  a  young  man.  We  agree  with  you ;  we  're  making  your 
kind  of  clothes.  You  want  style  that  stays  stylish ;  that  keeps  its  smart- 
ness as  long  as  you  pay  for.  Style  must  have  something  back  of  it  if  it 's 
to  stay.  Back  of  our  style  you'll  find  all-wool  fabrics  properly  shrunk; 
and  the  best  tailoring. 

No.  9  &  Co. 

Each  person  received  a  sheet  of  these  advertisements  and 
was  asked  to  read  them  carefully  so  as  to  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  their  contents.  Then  he  was  to  number  them  in 
the  order  in  which  he  would  choose  these  firms  as  places  to 
purchase  a  suit  of  clothes.  Notice,  he  was  not  to  say  which  he 
considered  to  be  the  best  advertisement,  but  to  which  place  he 


TESTING  STRENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  253 

would  go  first  to  purchase  a  suit,  to  which  place  he  would  go 
next,  etc.,  through  the  entire  list. 

The  results  bring  out  some  very  interesting  things.  The 
accompanying  table  gives  the  advertisements  in  the  order  of 
their  preference,  the  chief  appeal  in  each  advertisement,  and 
the  relative  strength  of  each  appeal. 

Ad.  No.  3  1.8  Fabric  and  style 

Ad.  No.  9  3.2  Style 

Ad.  No.  1  3.7  Success 

Ad.  No.  7  4.4  Expensive 

Ad.  No.  6  5.5  No  sweatshop 

Ad.  No.  8  6.1  Age  of  firm 

Ad.  No.  5  6.6  Making  acquaintances 

Ad.  No.  4  6.8  Cheap 

Ad.  No.  2  8.2  "  Best  in  men 's  clothes. ' ' 

The  first  column  gives  the  original  number  of  each  adver- 
tisement in  the  list  given  above.  The  second  column  gives  the 
average  rank  of  each  advertisement.  For  example,  the  first 
has  a  rank  of  1.8.  If  every  one  of  the  120  persons  had  given 
it  first  choice,  then  its  rank  would  have  been  1  instead  of 
1.8,  but  a  few  gave  it  second,  third,  and  even  fourth  place. 
The  larger  these  rank  numbers  are,  the  weaker  is  the 
advertisement. 

Advertisement  No.  3,  emphasizing  fabric  and  style,  is 
easily  the  first  choice.  It  is  way  above  its  nearest  competitor. 
Its  strength  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  brings  out  just  those 
selling  points  on  which  a  discriminating  man  selects  his 
clothes. 

No.  9,  emphasizing  style  alone,  and  No.  1,  emphasizing  the 
claim  that  success  comes  from  wearing  these  clothes,  are  almost 
a  tie  for  second  place.  Their  appeals  are  not  as  strong  as  that 
of  No.  3. 

As  we  pass  down  the  list,  the  selling  points  become  more 
and  more  indirect  and  irrelevant.  No.  7,  emphasizing  high 
price,  receives  its  relatively  high  place  because  high  price  is 
taken  to  represent  high  quality  and  workmanship.  For  the 
same  reason,  No.  4,  emphasizing  cheapness,  is  placed  next  to 
the  lowest  position.  In  the  minds  of  discriminating  men, 
cheap  price  means  poor  quality  and  low  values. 


254  ADVERTISING 

Another  point  in  connection  with  No.  4  is  of  special  impor- 
tance. The  places  given  to  this  advertisement  by  the  120 
men  are  distributed  very  widely.  Some  ranked  it  very  high 
and  some  ranked  it  very  low.  The  rankings  of  all  the  other 
advertisements  agree  much  more  closely.  There  is  greater 
difference  of  opinion  on  this  advertisement  than  on  any  other. 
About  one-third  of  the  individuals  placed  it  as  high  as  No.  7. 
To  them,  cheapness,  rather  than  quality  or  style,  is  the 
strongest  appeal.  The  remaining  two-thirds  of  the  120  per- 
sons placed  it  even  below  the  lowest  one. 

This  is  interesting  and  important  from  the  practical  point 
of  view.  For  it  means  that  even  in  the  best  advertising 
mediums,  read  by  intelligent  persons,  the  appeal  of  cheap- 
ness finds  a  large  class  of  people  with  whom  it  is  the  main 
consideration.  And  this  class  of  readers  is  large  enough 
to  make  cheapness  usable  as  a  selling  point  in  high  grade 
mediums. 

No.  6,  no  sweatshop  factory.  No.  8,  age  of  the  firm,  and 
No.  5,  making  acquaintances,  are  very  weak  appeals.  In  spite 
of  their  weakness  they  continue  to  be  used,  even  by  the  best 
firms. 

No.  2,  best  in  men's  clothes,  has  decidedly  the  poorest  sell- 
ing point.  It  not  only  tells  you  nothing  about  clothing,  but 
it  is  apt  to  arouse  distrust.  It  sounds  boastful  and  savors 
of  unreliability. 

From  this  investigation,  it  would  seem  that  the  order  of 
merit  test  gives  us  a  fair  indication  of  the  relative  pulling 
power  of  different  advertisements.  At  any  rate,  it  is  a  much 
more  reliable  index  of  the  strength  than  the  judgment  of  one 
individual,  even  though  he  be  an  expert.  There  is  nothing 
far-fetched  or  theoretical  about  this  test.  It  is  simply  com- 
mon sense  applied  under  scientific  conditions  to  obtain  and 
combine  a  large  number  of  judgments  into  one  final  measure- 
ment. 

Five  Essentials  of  the  Test.  To  what  extent  and  under 
what  conditions  is  this  method  reliable?  An  advertising 
campaign  is  an  exceedingly  complex  affair.    Numerous  factors 


TESTING  STBENGTH  OF  ADVEBTISEMENTS  255 

affect  it,  seasons  of  the  year,  conditions  of  the  market,  methods 
of  marketing  and  distribution,  and  many  others.  But  assum- 
ing these  factors  to  be  normal  and  properly  managed  in  a 
campaign,  the  relative  power  of  different  advertisements  thus 
determined  ought  to  hold  fairly  well. 

The  five  chief  conditions  upon  which  the  value  of  this 
method  depends  are :  First,  at  least  twenty-five  persons  must 
be  chosen  for  making  the  test.  That  number  is  necessary  to 
obtain  reliable  averages.  It  has  been  proved,  however,  that 
twenty-five  are  quite  enough  and  give  practically  the  same 
results  as  100  or  more  would  give. 

Second,  these  twenty-five  individuals  must  be  chosen  from 
the  class  to  whom  the  advertisements  are  intended  to  go.  If 
the  above  clothing  advertisements  were  to  appear  in  agricul- 
tural mediums,  then  the  test  should  be  made  with  twenty-five 
readers  of  those  mediums.  Or,  if  they  were  advertisements 
of  ladies'  suits  in  high  class  mediums  they  should  be  tested 
with  readers  of  those  mediums.  Differences  in  tastes  and  atti- 
tudes and  in  methods  of  shopping,  between  men  and  women 
and  between  different  social  and  intellectual  strata  of  society, 
can  thus  be  discovered  which  would  not  appear  to  one  analyz- 
ing the  situation  while  sitting  in  an  office  chair.  Many  times 
an  expert  analyzes  and  plans  a  campaign,  only  to  find  through 
costly  experience  that  he  has  failed  to  see  all  the  factors  and 
details  that  enter. 

Third,  fictitious  names  must  be  used  in  the  test  advertise- 
ments in  order  to  avoid  any  partiality  to  or  prejudice  against 
the  advertisements  either  on  account  of  newness  or  famili- 
arity of  the  name. 

Fourth,  in  ranking  the  advertisements,  each  person  should 
keep  in  mind  this  question.  To  which  firm  would  I  go 
first,  to  which  second,  to  which  third,  etc.,  to  purchase  this 
article?  —  not  the  question,  Which  is  the  best  advertisement? 
The  latter  would  give  quite  different  results  and  would  not 
indicate  the  force  of  the  appeals,  because  an  advertisement 
might  look  interesting  and  attractive  at  first  glance,  and  hence 
be  placed  high,  but  its  text  might  be  very  weak. 


256  ADVERTISING 

Fifth,  the  test  advertisements  should  be  set  up  and  printed 
just  as  they  are  to  be  used  later,  so  that  the  illustrations, 
borders,  display  type,  and  the  like,  will  make  their  combined 
impression.  Plain  typewritten  or  printed  copy  might  give 
different  results. 

The  chief  criticism  of  this  method  is  that  the  judgments 
made  in  a  test  of  this  kind  are  made  more  consciously  than 
they  usually  are  in  response  to  advertisements.  In  everyday 
life  we  are  influenced  by  the  accumulated  effect  of  half- 
conscious,  half-forgotten  impressions  oft  repeated  at  different 
times  and  under  different  circumstances. 

Nevertheless,  the  author  feels  that  the  order  of  merit  test 
has  great  possibilities  in  it,  although  it  has  not  yet  been  tried 
out  sufficiently  to  become  standardized.  The  only  way  to 
determine  ultimately  its  practical  usefulness  would  be  to  test 
it  out  with  advertisements  whose  returns  have  been  or  may  be 
accurately  checked.  In  this  way  it  would  be  possible  to  find  out 
how  closely  the  actual  pulling  power  coincided  with  the  experi- 
mentally tested  pulling  power.  Of  course  this  would  have  to 
be  done  with  many  different  advertisements  of  many  different 
articles. 

Should  the  accuracy  of  this  test  method  be  established 
sufficiently  to  make  the  method  generally  adopted  it  would  be 
of  much  practical  value  and  would  tend  greatly  to  reduce 
waste  in  advertising.  The  financial  cost  of  testing  out  a  set 
of  advertisements  for  a  campaign  would  be  a  very  small  item 
in  the  entire  cost  of  the  campaign. 

Appeals  in  Shoe  Advertisements.  A  test  similar  to  the 
one  with  the  clothing  advertisements  just  described  was  made 
with  the  following  shoe  advertisements.  These  pieces  of  copy 
were  taken  from  current  advertisements  appearing  in  high, 
grade  mediums.  The  only  change  in  them  is  the  substitution 
of  a  number  for  the  name  of  the  firm  or  the  shoe.  The  test 
was  made  with  fifty  men  and  forty-eight  women,  all  uni- 
versity students,  who  are  fairly  representative  of  the  general 
class  of  persons  to  whom  the  mediums  go  in  which  these 
advertisements  appeared. 


TESTING  STRENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  257 

The  No.  1  Shoe.  The  satisfaction  you  get  will  prove  the  worth  of 
your  investment.  For  $5.00  you  get  the  best  materials  —  and  "Natural 
Shape"  lasts  for  comfort  —  in  a  style  to  suit  your  taste. 

No.  2  's  are  made  to  fill  certain  needs  —  style,  service,  comfort,  wear. 
For  forty  years  these  four  fundamentals  have  dominated  No.  2  manu- 
facturing principles.  The  result  —  No.  2  merit  is  demonstrated,  No.  2 
prestige  is  unquestioned,  as  shown  by  a  spontaneous,  world-wide  demand. 

The  above  X-ray  photo  shows  how  a  narrow,  unnatural  shoe  bends 
and  binds  the  foot  into  semi-uselessness  and  creates  corns,  bunions,  etc. 
Shows  you  how  20%  or  more  of  real,  valuable  energy  is  actually  de- 
stroyed. Save  this  valuable  money -making  energy!  Put  your  feet  into 
No.  3  shoes  and  banish  forever  all  foot  troubles.  Give  yourself  hand- 
some, healthy  feet  that  you  never  give  thought  to  except  to  admire  their 
looks.    For  No.  3  shoes  are  good  sense  plus  good  looks. 

Style  inimitable.  No.  4  style  is  distinctive, — peculiar  to  No.  4 
shops.  You  do  not  find  its  equal  elsewhere.  Because  it  is  more  than  a 
name.  It  means  taste  —  original  design,  exclusive  patterns,  refined  lines, 
surpassing  fit  and  finish.    Shoes  of  high  grade. 

A  good  shoe  is  one  that  wears  well,  fits  right  and  has  distinctive 
appearance  —  all  in  a  measure  a  little  beyond  your  expectations.  Did 
you  ever  wear  a  No.  5? 

Two  feet  of  comfort  in  No.  6  shoes.  Eeady  to  wear  when  you  buy 
them.  Not  a  single  uncomfortable  moment,  because  No.  6  are  made 
on  foot-molded  lasts.  They  do  not  require  breaking  in.  Pleasing  to 
look  at.  Delightful  to  travel  in.  Sincerely  made  from  a  wide  variety 
of  dependable  leathers  in  conservative  and  progressive  models  to  fit  the 
feet  of  well-dressed  men. 

Shoes  of  character.  Character  shows  in  shoes  as  in  men.  It  speaks 
for  itself.  By  right  of  better  materials,  by  reason  of  better  styles, 
because  of  finer  lines  and  easier  fit  —  No.  7  's  show  for  what  they  are. 
This  general  betterness  is  proved  by  thousands  of  the  earth's  wise  folks 
who  have  been  wearing  No.  7's  for  years  and  years. 

No.  8  shoes.  In  style,  pure  comfort,  and  durability,  No.  8's  lead 
the  field,  because:  They  are  made  by  the  most  skilled  workmen  obtain- 
able—  union  shoemakers.  We  have  a  last  for  every  known  foot.  Best 
grade  leather  is  used. 

This  No.  9  dull  calf  Oxford  has  a  narrow,  receding  toe,  the  sole  is 
flat  with  a  low,  wide  shank,  and  the  heel  is  low  —  what  we  call  a  square 
boot  heel.  The  shoe  is  made  of  smooth,  dull.  Gun  Metal  Calf,  a  leather 
which  has  a  finish  which  may  be  likened  to  the  barrel  of  a  fine  shotgun. 
It  is  made  on  a  special  Oxford  last  which  is  thin  under  the  ankle,  and 
provides  a  sort  of  pocket  for  the  heel.  This  prevents  slipping  or  gaping 
sides. 

Feet  Ache?  Get  No.  10.  The  shoes  that  feel  and  look  "Made  to 
Measure."     Perfection   of   style  and   comfort.     They   compliment   the 


258 


ADVEETISING 


feet  of  the  best  dressed  men.  Soles  molded  to  conform  to  the  contour 
of  the  feet  and  rest  them.  Fashioned  from  trustworthy  dull,  tan,  and 
shiny  leathers  in  scores  of  different  shapes.    Authority  styles,  $4  to  $6. 

Tabulation  of  Results.  The  results  are  shown  separately 
for  the  men  and  the  women  in  the  following  table.  The  first 
column  gives  the  original  number  of  the  advertisement,  the 
second  gives  the  essential  appeal  in  each  piece  of  copy,  and 
the  third  gives  the  average  of  all  the  ranks  assigned  to  each 
one.  The  smaller  the  rank  number  is,  the  stronger  was  the 
appeal  considered  to  be. 


Men 


Ad 

No. 


Appeal 

Make  and  material 

Comfort 

Healthy  feet 

Style  and  material. 

"Character" 

Age  and  prestige .  . 
Union  workers. . . . 

Style 

"A  good  shoe" .... 
Satisfaction 


Av. 
Rank 


Women 


Ad 

No. 


Appeal 

"A  good  shoe". . . . 

Comfort 

Style  and  material . 
Age  and  prestige . . 
Union  workers .... 

Healthy  feet 

Style 

"Character" 

Satisfaction 

Make  and  material 


Av. 
Rank 


9 
6 
3 
10 
7 
2 
8 
4 
5 
1 


2.4 
2.7 
3.0 
3.9 
5.3 
6.0 
6.2 
6.9 
7.2 
8.6 


5 
6 
10 
2 
8 
3 
4 
7 
1 
9 


4.4 
4.9 
5.4 
5.5 
5.7 
5.8 
5.9 
6.0 
6.0 
7.0 


The  strongest  appeal  with  the  men  is  the  one  that  brings 
out  the  material  and  the  workmanship  of  the  shoe.  The  em- 
phasis on  comfort  is  a  close  second.  These  are  the  essential 
features  that  a  discriminating  man  looks  for  in  a  shoe.  Style, 
pure  and  simple,  does  not  appeal  very  strongly  —  not  nearly 
as  strongly  as  in  the  case  of  clothing  advertisements. 
"Healthy  feet"  and  "style  and  material"  come  near  the  top 
and  are  strong  appeals,  the  latter  chiefly  because  of  its 
emphasis  on  material.  That  shoes  show  "character,"  or  that 
they  are  made  by  an  old  firm  or  by  union  workers,  are  more 
or  less  indirect  appeals  and  therefore  stand  low.  It  might  be 
argued  that  if  the  name  of  the  firm  referred  to  in  the  appeal 
of  prestige  were  given  it  would  stand  very  much  higher. 
Very  likely  it  would ;  but  in  that  case  it  would  make  a  strong 
appeal  because  of  the  name  of  the  firm  and  its  reliability,  and 


TESTING  STBENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  259 

not  because  it  had  been  in  business  a  long  time.  The  two  last 
appeals  deserve  to  be  last.  They  are  almost  wholly  irrelevant 
and  say  nothing  about  the  shoe.  No.  5  says  what  a  good  shoe 
is  and  does,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  No.  5 
has  any  of  these  merits.  No.  1  merely  says  that  a  $5  shoe  is 
made  of  the  best  material,  and  has  natural  shape,  but  there  is 
no  indication  that  these  qualities  are  represented  in  the  No.  1 
shoe. 

Sex  Differences  in  Shoe  Advertisements.  The  sex  differ- 
ences are  rather  interesting.  In  the  first  place,  the  women 
have  not  discriminated  as  sharply  among  the  different  appeals 
as  the  men  have.  One  appeal  is  almost  as  good  as  any  other. 
This  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  numbers  indicating  the 
average  ranks  are  much  more  alike  for  the  women  than  for 
the  men.  With  the  women  the  appeals  fall  into  three  groups. 
"A  good  shoe"  and  "comfort"  stand  at  the  top.  "Make  and 
material"  stands  by  itself  at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  while  the 
rest  in  the  middle  are  of  about  the  same  value.  The  range 
for  the  women  runs  only  from  4.4  to  7.0,  while  the  range  for 
the  men  runs  from  2.4  to  8.6.  This  shows  that  the  different 
appeals  have  very  different  strengths  with  the  men  and  with 
the  women. 

In  the  second  place,  the  irrelevant  and  indirect  appeals 
stand  much  higher  with  the  women  than  with  the  men.  The 
first  appeal,  "a  good  shoe,"  is  largely  indirect.  The  most 
direct  appeal,  ' '  make  and  material, ' '  which  is  at  the  top  with 
the  men,  is  at  the  bottom  with  the  women.  The  appeals  of 
style.  No.  10  and  No.  4,  stand  higher  with  the  women  than 
with  the  men.  The  appeal  of  "age  and  prestige"  stands 
higher  with  the  women  than  with  the  men,  while  the  appeal 
of  "healthy  feet"  stands  higher  with  the  men  than  with  the 
women.  The  latter  point  is  probably  explained  by  the  fact 
that  the  reference  to  corns  and  bunions  is  more  distasteful  to 
the  women  than  to  the  men. 

The  practical  implication  in  these  results  would  be  quite 
obvious.  Appeals  which  are  strongest  with  the  men  should 
be  used  in  advertising  men's  shoes,  as  shown  in  the  above 


260 


ADVERTISING 


table,  and  the  appeals  which  are  strongest  with  the  women 
should  be  used  in  advertising  women's  shoes. 

Two  extensive  studies  of  the  pulling  power  of  different 
appeals  have  been  made  by  Strong,^  one  with  twenty  breakfast 
food  advertisements  and  the  other  with  twenty  soap  adver- 
tisements. 

Selling  Points  in  BreaMast  Food  Advertisements.  The 
breakfast  food  advertisements  were  arranged  in  the  order  of 
strength  by  fifty  persons  after  the  manner  already  described. 
This  yielded  the  results  in  the  accompanying  table.  Cleanli- 
ness is  easily  the  strongest  appeal ;  ' '  food  value, ' '  which  is  the 
essential  idea  in  the  second  and  third  appeals,  stands  next; 
and  * '  taste ' '  is  third  in  effectiveness.  Prestige  represented  in 
"old  reliable  firm"  has  about  the  same  position  here  as  in 
the  clothing  and  shoe  advertisements.  The  food  that  has  a 
souvenir  in  every  package  stands  at  the  bottom  of  the  list. 
The  appeal  of  an  "enormous  manufacturing  plant"  is  next 
to  the  last.  The  doctor's  recommendation  stands  higher  than 
either  the  Roosevelt  or  the  royalty  recommendation,  because 
his  opinion  supposedly  represents  scientific  advice. 
Breakfast  Food  Advertisements 


Ad  No. 


Appeal 


Av.  Rank 


16 

2 

11 

3 

1 

6 

10 

5 

7 

13 

18 

19 

9 

12 

8 

4 

17 

15 

20 

14 


Cleanliness 

Doctor's  recommendation 

Brain  power 

Taste  No.  1 

Taste  No.  2 

Healthful  No.  1 

Healthful  No.  2 

Mental  dullness  removed 

Magnifying  glass  (health) 

Old  reliable  firm 

Roosevelt  recommendation 

Cheap 

Shot  from  guns 

Used  everywhere 

Necessary  as  Thanksgiving  turkey . 

Men  like  it 

Patronize  home  industry 

Royalty  recommendation 

Enormous  plant 

Souvenir  free 


4.5 

6.5 

7.9 

8.0 

8.2 

8.2 

8.5 

9.3 

9.5 

9.8 

9.8 

9.8 

11.0 

11.5 

12.5 

13.0 

13.1 

14.0 

14.9 

16.8 


1.  Strons.  E.  K.,  "The  Relative  Merit  of  Advertisements,"  Science  Pre»». 


TESTING  STRENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS 


261 


Appeals  in  Soap  Advertisements.  The  results  of  the  test 
with  the  soap  advertisements  reveal  some  exceedingly  inter- 
esting facts.  Perhaps  the  most  significant  point  is  the  differ- 
ence in  the  strength  of  the  various  appeals  with  the  different 
classes  of  persons.  The  first  three  groups  of  persons  agree 
fairly  closely,  for  the  most  part,  but  the  group  of  farmers 
differs  very  widely  from  the  other  three.  The  appeal  of  cheap- 
ness, which  is  placed  near  the  bottom  in  the  first  three  lists, 
is  placed  first  in  the  farmers'  rating.  The  ''souvenir  free," 
which  is  placed  last  in  the  first  three  lists,  is  placed  second 
from  the  top  by  the  farmers.  "Pure  and  clean,"  which  is 
placed  distinctly  first  in  the  three  lists,  is  placed  next  to  the 
last  by  the  farmers.  ''Shampoo  and  bath,"  "exhilaration  in 
bath,"    "health,"    "doesn't  irritate  the  skin,"    and  others 

Soap  Advertisements 


50  Students 

101  Men 

95  WO.MEN 

97  Farmers 

16  Pure  and  clean  3.8 

Pure  and  clean.  3.9 

Pure  and  clean .   2.7 

Cheap 7.1 

6  Doesn'tirritate 

Doesn't  irritate 

Doesn't  irritate 

Souvenir  free ....  8.2 

the  skin 5.0 

the  skin 6.0 

the  skin 4.1 

10  Health 6.3 

Shampoo  and 

bath 6.4 

Health 5.3 

Sold  everywhere..  8.7 

8  Expensive 8.3 

Health 6.5 

Expensive 6.4 

Beauty 8.1 

Shampoo  and 

bath 8.3 

Reliable  firm 9.4 

11  Shampoo  and 

For  particular 

bath 8.5 

Expensive 8.6 

people 9.6 

4  Carneeie 

Exhilaration  in 

Exhilaration  in 

Institute..  .   8.5 

bath 8.6 

bath 8.4 

Baby 9.7 

2  Dr.'s  recom- 

mendation.  9.0 

Reliable  firm...  9.4 

Large  factory 9.7 

9  Guaranteed  ..9.0 

Dr.'s  recom- 

mendation. . .   9.5 

Guaranteed 9.4 

Carnegie  InstitutelO.  2 

3  Baby 9.5 

Guaranteed 9.6 

Dr.'s  recom- 

Doesn't irritate 

mendation...  9.7 

skin 10.4 

17  Exhilaration 

Royalty  recom- 

in bath 10.5 

Baby 9.6 

Baby 9.8 

mendation.  . .   10.6 

5  A  tour  expense  10. 7 

At  our  expense.  10. 1 

At  our  expense.  10.1 
Reliable  firm...  10.1 

Health 10.7 

1  Beauty 10.8 

Beauty 10.7 

Dr.'s  recommen- 

dation  10.7 

13  Reliable  firm.  10. 8 

Royalty  recom- 

Carnegie 

mendation..  .11.1 

Institute 11.6 

Beauty 10.8 

19  Cheap 12.7 

CarneKie 

Sold  every- 

In.stitute  12.1 

where  12.6 

Expensive 11.3 

12  Sold  every- 

Roosevelt rec- 

Roosevelt rec 

Shampoo  and 

bath 11.4 

where 13.0 

ommendation  12. 1 

ommendation  13.7 

18  Roosevelt  rec- 

For particular 

Royalty  rec- 

Exhilaration in 

ommendation. 13  .  5 

people 12.3 

Sold  every- 

ommendation 14.5 

bath 11.4 

15  Royalty  rec- 

ommendation 13.5 

where 13.1 

Cheap 15.1 

Guaranteed 11.6 

7  For  particular 

For  particular 

people 15.8 

Cheap 14.8 

people 15.4 

At  our  expense..  .11.6 

20  Large factory.16.1 

Large  factory  ..16.5 

Large  factory  ..16.6 

Pure  and  clean  ...11.7 

14  Souvenir  free.  18. 3 

Souvenir  free. . .  18 . 8 

Souvenir  free. . .  19 . 1 

Roosevelt  rec- 

» 

ommendation.  .13.1 

262 


ADVERTISING 


of  a  similar  kind,  are  placed  considerably  lower  by  the  farmers 
than  by  the  other  classes  of  persons  here  tested. 

Another  noteworthy  feature  about  the  ranking  of  the  farm- 
ers is  the  fact  that  the  appeals  did  not  strike  them  as  being  so 
very  different  in  strength.  One  appeal  was  almost  as  good 
as  any  other.  The  range  extends  from  7.1  to  13.1,  whereas 
it  extends  more  than  twice  as  widely  with  the  other  classes. 

The  chief  difference  between  the  ratings  of  the  men  and  the 
women  is  with  regard  to  the  appeal  of  ''beauty."  It  is  placed 
fifth  by  the  women  but  twelfth  by  the  men.  It  naturally 
makes  a  stronger  appeal  to  feminine  nature. 

Eeliability  of  Order  of  Merit  Test.  The  ultimate  criterion 
of  the  usefulness  and  accuracy  of  the  order  of  merit  method 
as  a  measure  of  the  pulling  power  of  advertisements  is  to 
compare  the  results  of  the  tests  with  the  actual  returns  of  the 
advertisements.  Up  to  the  present  time  such  a  comparison 
has  been  made  in  only  a  few  instances.  These,  however,  seem 
to  indicate  that  when  the  test  is  made  according  to  the  specified 
conditions  laid  down,  the  method  is  quite  reliable. 

HoUingworth^  made  a  comparison  of  his  test  with  the  re- 
turns actually  obtained  from  five  advertisements  of  a  lathe 
put  out  by  the  Bullard  Machine  Tool  Company.  He  made 
the  test  with  ten  mechanics  and  engineering  students  and 
obtained  the  following  results : 

Thus  we  see  that  in  this  particular  case  the  rank  as  deter- 
mined by  the  test  is  exactly  the  same  as  the  order  of  the  pull- 
ing power  as  determined  by  the  number  of  inquiries  received. 
Advertisement  C  is  the  best  in  both  lists.  It  brought  forty 
times  as  many  inquiries  as  advertisement  D,  the  poorest  in 


Ads 

Av.  Rank 

Order 

According 

TO  Test 

Order  Accordinq 

TO  Inquiries 

Received 

A 

3.0 
2.6 
2.3 

4.4 

2.7 

4 
2 

1 
5 
3 

4 

B 

2 

c 

1 

D 

5 

E 

3 

1.  Holllngworth,  H.  L.,  "Judgments  of  Persuasiveness,"  Psych.  Rev.,  1911. 


TESTING  STBENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  263 

the  list.  Hollingworth  also  states  that  a  similar  comparison 
made  with  some  advertisements  of  Ingersoll  watches  showed 
a  close  correspondence  between  the  test  order  and  the  order 
as  determined  by  the  actual  returns. 

Strong^  made  a  test  of  three  advertisements  of  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  He  found  that  of  the 
three  advertisements  —  A,  B,  and  C  —  the  first  and  the  last 
were  practically  identical  in  strength  and  that  both  were  very 
much  superior  to  the  second  one.  The  actual  results  as  found 
by  the  company  showed  that  A  and  C  were  about  equal, 
although  A  was  the  superior  of  the  two,  and  that  both  were 
very  much  better  than  B.  Thus  the  two  orders  agree  almost 
exactly. 


A08 

Av.  Rank 

AcTCTAL  Efficiency 
ON  THE  Basis  of 

100%  FOR  A 

A 

1.74 
2.64 
1.76 

100 

B 

52 

C 

93 

Differences  between  Men  and  Women.  This  question  is 
worth  raising  because  many  products  are  advertised  and  sold 
only  to  one  sex,  and  because  so  many  commodities  used  by 
both,  such  as  household  articles,  are  purchased  largely  by 
women.  Some  one  has  estimated  that  80  percent  of  the  ordi- 
nary necessities  of  life  is  purchased  by  women  and  that  the 
purchasing  of  the  remaining  20  percent  is  influenced  by 
them.  Now,  what  dift'erences  in  the  mental  make-up  be- 
tween men  and  women  are  sufficiently  marked  to  be  worth 
consideration  in  the  preparation  of  advertisements? 

First,  women  are  probably  influenced  more  by  "artistic 
appeals"  than  men  are.  Gale  found,  in  testing  the  strength 
of  various  appeals,  that  women  mentioned  beauty  or  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  advertisement  about  30  percent  more  frequently 
than  men  did,  as  their  reason  for  preferring  an  advertise- 
ment. In  the  preceding  shoe  advertisements,  style  was  placed 
higher  by  the  women  than  by  the  men,  and  in  the  soap  adver- 

1.  strong,  E.  K.,  Jour,  of  Educ.  Psychology,  TV,  p.  393. 


264  ADVERTISING 

tisements,  beauty  was  placed  very  much  higher  by  the  women 
than  by  the  men.  Strong  also  found  with  a  group  of  Packer's 
Tar  Soap  advertisements,  which  were  ranked  five  times  at 
intervals  of  a  week,  that  the  * '  artistic ' '  advertisements  gradu- 
ally increased  in  strength  of  appeal  with  the  women,  whereas 
they  remained  constant  with  the  men.  The  **  inartistic " 
advertisements  waned  in  strength  with  each  successive  rank- 
ing by  the  women.    . 

Second,  women  are  apparently  more  attentive  to,  and  more 
influenced  by,  irrelevant  or  indirect  selling  points.  This  fact 
is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  test  with  the  shoe  advertise- 
ments. The  indirect  appeals  stand  nearer  to  the  top  in  the 
women 's  rankings  and  nearer  to  the  bottom  in  the  men 's  rank- 
ings. The  most  direct  appeal,  "make  and  material,"  is  the 
strongest  with  the  men  but  the  weakest  with  the  women.  In 
Strong's  test  with  the  Packer's  Tar  Soap  advertisements,  the 
indirect  appeals,  such  as  the  picture  of  a  baby  in  a  satchel,  a 
group  of  kittens,  a  boy  in  a  cart,  or  a  tired  tourist,  are  placed 
higher  by  the  women  than  by  the  men. 

Third,  women  are  somewhat  more  subject  to  suggestion 
than  men  are.  In  an  experiment^  on  unconscious  imitation 
in  handwriting  it  was  found  that  women  showed  greater 
modification  in  their  writing  than  men  did.  The  experiment 
was  made  by  having  a  large  group  of  men  and  women  copy 
various  samples  of  writing.  They  were  told  nothing  of  the 
purpose  of  the  experiment.  Each  person  stated  after  the 
experiment  that  he  had  made  no  effort  to  imitate  the  different 
styles  and  that  he  had  not  felt  any  change  in  his  manner 
of  writing.  Yet  it  was  found  that  nearly  every  one  showed 
traces  of  modification  in  his  writing  in  the  direction  of  the 
model.  Thus,  when  they  were  copying  a  vertical  sample 
they  tended  to  write  more  vertically,  and  when  they  were 
copying  a  slanting  sample  they  tended  to  make  their  letters 
more  slanting.  The  women  changed  their  writing  uncon- 
sciously by  about  25  percent  more  than  the  men. 

Likewise,  a  test  with  what  is  known  as  the  "size-weight" 

1.     starch,  D.,  Psych.  Review,  July,  1911. 


TESTING  STRENGTH  OF  ADVERTISEMENTS  265 

illusion,  made  upon  boys  and  girls  fifteen  to  seventeen  years 
of  age,  showed  that  the  girls  were  more  subject  to  the  illusion 
than  the  boys.  By  the  size-weight  illusion  is  meant  the  fact 
that  a  small  solid  object  is  usually  over-estimated  in  weight, 
and  a  large,  unsubstantial  object  is  usually  under-estimated. 
This  suggestion  of  size  as  a  factor  in  estimating  the  weight  of 
an  object  is  more  powerful  with  girls  than  with  boys. 

Fourth,  perhaps  the  most  important  difference  between 
men  and  women  which  the  advertiser  must  keep  in  mind,  is 
the  greater  domestic  interest  of  women,  that  is,  the  more 
intense  interest  in  and  the  larger  amount  of  time  devoted  to 
the  home  and  the  family.  This  difference,  of  course,  is 
very  deep-seated,  and  is  a  part  of  the  very  make-up  of  men 
and  women.  The  appeals  to  the  domestic  instincts  can, 
therefore,  be  utilized  to  far  better  advantage  in  advertise- 
ments designed  to  influence  women. 

There  are,  no  doubt,  numerous  minor  differences  which 
need  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  certain  types  of  advertising,  such 
as  women's  interest  in  social  affairs,  and  their  interest  in 
**  bargains." 

PROBLEMS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Make  a  study  of  the  different  pieces  of  text  for  the  clothing  and 
the  shoe  advertisements  given  in  this  chapter.  Bank  them  in  the  order 
in  which  they  appeal  to  you,  that  is,  which  shoes  or  suit  of  clothing  you 
would  buy  first,  which  would  be  your  second  choice,  etc.  Then  compare 
your  ranking  with  the  averages  given  in  the  tables. 

2.  Discuss  critically  the  value  and  usefulness  of  the  order  of  merit 
test  as  a  means  of  determining  the  strength  of  selling  appeals.  Indicate 
its  possible  weakness. 

3.  Make  a  thorough  study  of  the  current  advertising  of  some  one 
class  of  articles,  such  as  foods,  clothing,  or  life  insurance.  Make  an 
analysis  of  the  various  selling  points  that  are  used.  Enumerate  them  and 
determine  as  nearly  as  you  can  which  points  are  used  most  frequently. 
Do  these  appeals  strike  you  as  being  the  most  effective  ones  for  that  class 
of  articles?  Are  there  other  appeals  that  are  not  used,  which  would  seem 
to  you  to  be  effective?  (To  make  the  study  adequate,  examine  at  least 
a  dozen  advertisements,  preferably  more,  of  the  particular  class  that 
you  select.) 

4.  The  Planning  of  a  Campaign.    Prepare  in  full  detail  the  complete 


266  ADVERTISING 

specifications  for  an  advertising  campaign  of  an  umbrella.  Assume  that 
it  is  a  new  article  that  has  not  been  advertised  before.  The  campaign 
is  to  run  for  one  year. 

(a)  Outline  the  general  sales  policy. 

(b)  Specify  the  amount  of  money  necessary  to  carry  out  the  plan. 

(c)  Specify  the  territory  to  be  covered. 

(d)  Designate  the  mediums  that  are  to  be  used.  Include  the  speci- 
fications for  the  space  and  the  frequency  of  insertions. 

(e)  Make  as  complete  a  list  as  you  can  of  all  appeals  or  selling 
points  that  you  would  consider  effective. 

(f)  Construct  the  layout  and  prepare  the  copy  for  the  first  two 
advertisements. 

(It  will  be  found  more  interesting  and  more  profitable  to  prepare  an 
actual  campaign  for  a  merchant  or  manufacturer,  if  such  arrangement 
can  be  made.) 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  ETHICS  OF  ADVEETISING 

Honesty  the  Key-note  of  Advertising.  Honesty  is  the 
foundation  of  confidence ;  and  confidence  is  the  greatest  asset 
that  any  business  can  possess.  Advertising,  as  well  as  all 
other  forms  of  business  transactions,  should  be  absolutely 
trustworthy,  for  two  reasons:  First,  for  the  general  moral 
reason,  that  all  forms  of  human  intercourse  should  be  honest 
and  dependable ;  and,  second,  for  business  reasons,  that  lying 
and  cheating  in  advertising,  in  the  long  run,  are  commercial 
suicide.  Dishonesty  in  advertising  destroys  not  only  the  con- 
fidence in  advertising,  but  also  in  the  medium  which  carries 
the  dishonest  advertisement.  It  hurts  not  only  the  particular 
business  and  the  particular  medium,  but  it  indirectly  harms 
all  advertisers  and  all  mediums  by  lowering  the  confidence  of 
the  buying  public.  Just  as  no  one  can  be  ill  in  a  community 
without  endangering  others,  so  no  advertiser  can  be  dishonest 
without  casting  suspicion  upon  others. 

Types  of  Dishonest  Advertising.  There  are  three  types 
or  grades  of  dishonesty  in  advertising  which  are  easily  recog- 
nizable. First,  simple  and  perhaps  harmless  exaggeration; 
second,  false  implications  without  direct  misrepresentation; 
and,  third,  gross  dishonesty. 

Exaggeration.  Examples  of  the  first  can  be  found  in 
almost  any  advertising  medium.  The  use  of  the  superlative 
is  altogether  too  prevalent.  "The  finest,"  "the  best,"  "the 
greatest,"  "the  purest,"  "the  most  economical,"  and  so  on 
ad  infinitum,  are  hurled  at  the  public  everywhere.  Surely 
not  all  products  of  the  same  class  can  be  the  best  or  the  finest. 

Thus  in  the  same  magazine  we  find  that  " Tires  are 

America's  best  pneumatic  tires,"  and  a  few  pages  farther  on 
we  find  another  firm  claiming  " Tires,  America 's  High- 
est Grade  Automobile  Tires."  Likewise,  in  the  same  medium 
one  typewriter  manufacturer  claims  to  have  "every  improve- 

267 


268  ADVERTISING 

ment  that  twenty  years  of  thought  and  study  could  suggest." 
Near  by,  another  typewriter  manufacturer  claims  to  have 
"the  greatest  advance  in  typewriter  construction." 

To  show  how  frequent  the  superlatives  are  in  current 
advertisements,  here  is  a  list  taken  from  one  magazine :  *  *  The 

best  seven  jewel  watch."     ** Cement,  none  just  as 

good. "     *  * Pork  and  Beans  are  the  best  that  money 

will  buy. "    " Ketchup,  Our  product  is  recognized  as 

the  best  and  purest  of  its  kind. "  " System  of  re- 
inforced concrete  means  the  lowest  cost  of  fireproof  construc- 
tion. "     *  *  Not  only  is  the  better  but  it  sells  for  less 

than  any  other  vacuum  bottle. "  " Sectional  Book- 
cases are  better,  much  better,  than  others;  they  are  the  best 

obtainable  anywhere!"    " Stove  Polish  lasts  longest." 

* '  Perfect  fit  and  comfort  of   quarter  sizes,  together 

with  their  custom  style  and  quality,  combine  to  make 

shoes  the  greatest  shoe  value  in  the  world."  "These  paints 
are  selected  because  they  are  the  most  durable. ' ' 

" Buggies  are  the  best  made,  best  grade,  and  easiest 

riding  buggies  on  earth  for  the  money. ' ' 

" Motor  Boats  —  superior  to  all  others  for  safety, 

comfort,  durability,  and  speed. ' ' 

*  * Boats,  the  only  one  offering  the  combination  of 

speed  with  comfort  and  safety. ' ' 

*  *  A  perfect  shoe  lace  is  here  at  last. ' ' 

"A  perfect  dentifrice  and  a  perfect  package." 
**We  believe  them  the  finest  chocolates  in  the  world." 

" Stoves  and  Ranges,  the  best  in  the  world." 

* '  The  best  business  card  is  the card. ' ' 

"We  believe  this  new to  be  the  best  car  in  the 

world." 

*  *  The  most  admired  of  time  pieces. ' ' 

Such  exaggerations  have  been  so  common  that  the  public 
takes  them  with  a  grain  of  salt  and  partly  excuses  them  as 
being  due  to  the  advertiser's  license  of  self-assertion.  Never- 
theless, the  fact  remains  that  superlative  generalities  are 
weak  arguments  and  far  less  convincing  than  a  statement 


TEE  ETHICS  OF  ADVEBTISING 


269 


of  facts.  Much  advertising  copy  could  be  improved  by  doing 
away  with  brag  and  substituting  actual  facts  about  the  merits 
of  the  article.    Thus  instead  of  saying  that  So-and-so's  is  the 


AT  is  Danger 


L 


^! 


■^iiowiva  RrDtrcTiox  of  98  PorNDS. 

.5.  H.  M\<>;.1r!j£c -write* s    '^'.ly  Jii7i/re  fr^idt 
,    .    ,',  .  •'  '  7  i,!:prcved:  have  lost  SS  Ui<." 

or  Tonrsi'lf.    Let  n;.-  R.-!!fl 


FREE 


free  BO0K  «f 

'.   .  !  I    nii.i     .■*■•>  i«r,-<ost3  absolntcly 
7v>thl)ic.    Vt  rite  lo-iiiiy.    I  wjli  sfwl  till  I'lUSK, 

1 « t  N  Bradford  Bvilidirvg,  20  E.  22d  St..  New  York! 
{Liotn^d  phi/sician  by  the  SiuU  of  New  York.) 


FlOtJRE   ll.i 
A  form  of  advertising,  which  is  offensive  to  good  taste 

best  flour  on  earth,  it  would  be  far  more  illuminating  to  state 
some  simple  fact  about  its  manufacture  or  about  the  grain 
from  which  it  is  made,  or  its  nutritive  value,  or  anything  else 
that  really  means  high  quality.  Here  are  two  motor  boat 
advertisements:  One  says:  ** Superior  to  all  others  for 
Safety,  Comfort,  Durability,  and  Speed."     The  other  says: 


270 


ADVERTISING 


"A  stock  boat  entered  last  September  in  the  Championship  Bace, 
New  York  to  Poughkeepsie  and  return,  maintained  an  average  speed  of 
22.57  miles  for  the  entire  distance." 


Marshall  Field^Gompany 


Infants'  Wear  Affords  Exceptional  February  Values  in  Inexpensive  Dresses 


By  proridtDf  lirtl*  Dtmms 
(tfra&Ur  food  nutaml).  with 
attract  IT*  kcM.  unbroadartM 
and  tucks;  m  low  as  45c  50c 

7Sc  and  SI 00.  w«  believe  this 
Fcbruaxy  sale  affords  val- 
ues which  will  be  appreci- 
ated u  buadredA  ol  Chicago's 
as  m  ail  our  merchaodumf  efforts  has 
•Uadard  of  valua      At  the  same  tima  w«  hsT* 


•oti^t  t*  lower  |vico«  if  poo- 

•iblo.ar.  at  loast  to  maintain 

an    akoady   low   scale   with 

unprored  qvality,  Theknowl 

cd^     of    succcssfol    accom- 

pltshmoat  in  the  present  sale 

firee  as  siocore    sattstsctic 

to  iu  a*  the  cxcaptieoal  vi 
ues  wiU  to  the    mother*  who  make  their  purchaaos  in  this  sal*. 
Sixoa  six  montha.  oae  and  two  Toart-  M»*/k» 


Silk  Petticoat»-Sonie  Unusual 
February  Values 

Petticoats,  close  fittint  mad*  of 
6oe  quality  siJk  Jersey  top,  deep 
itrai^l.  fine  plaited  chi&m  flounce. 
¥rith  sbedow  lace  insertion  above 
boov  la  black  or  white;  ftbo  aary. 
tavpo  and  porpl*  withoot  lac*  ia- 
sortioo.  Special  SS9S.  as  iUtts- 
tratcd 

PeMicoati.  in  black  and  aew  de- 
sirabU  colors,  made  of  fine  quality 
mesaaltas  silk,  straight  fine  plaited 
floaoce,  small  plaited  ruffle,  silk 
underlay.     Speoal  $3.5a 


Women's  Kid 

Gloves 

/ 

20th  aruuiaiMatm.  Itut- 

irtg  tk»  tnlirm  month 

of  FmbrwUy. 

Tb«  Ujheel  (redae  e< 
Uether  possible  le  precare 
are  svsAsbU  at  the  prfoae 


(n4e*~  Owwedd-faaoas 


Women's  Tailored  Suits  in  a 

New  and  Very  Attractive 

Style,  at  $50.00 

Fancy  Tailored  Suits  of  im- 
por/«(/|ab«rdins  and  ripple  cloths 
—collar  and  cufis  of  white  motre 
silk  edfed  with  self  color  peau  de 
cyfne  siUl  Coat  ia  bolero  effect 
in  froot  aiid  loafer  in  back, 
with  short  kimono  sleeves  Skirt 
is  tunic  with  panel  back,  showiaf 
the  new  drape  on  both  sides. 
Colors  are  black,  aary,  (reoa. 
taif  and  Copenhagea  Prico 
$5000  OMfw. 


Women's  Afternoon  and  Evening  Costumes:  Many  Arrivals  of  Exclusive  Models 


itala  iB«kci  tkl,  >a  escaptlaaallT  feed 
tor  thm  Ml«ctlaa  g<   co«t«aM 
kr  ■furmooa  or  e*«aln|  w— f. 

Spdal  •!  ttS.OO— W«  an  (iMkW 
^  J,.Haltid«iM>icola«»e<J 
••  au  >l^  «  •  frisa  aUA  aknld 
•ub  lUa  ••  MariM  •<  auiaal 
tetaraat    Tkc'  Malwlal   aad  ooldr 


tMSO  — Daaalal 


•i>lla 


•Ilk 


el  chtfaa  aad  laca.    Mada  la 

■  Bill  04  aaaiail  da^^    A  lar|a 

<  a(  ibM.    Tka  ool^r  aas- 

*l*  tifc  t  nmft  tjaa. 

la  al 


|Mk  a^  lalav  aia  aan 
ttaaa  4nana  ■•  alM  I 


Figure  114 


Figures  114  and  115  represent  two  entirely  different  methods 
of  announcing  special  sales.  The  one  simply  states  the  articles 
and  prices.  The  second  gives  comparative  prices  of  "tre- 
mendous" reductions.  It  raises  the  question  in  the  minds  of 
many  customers  as  to  whether  they  are  genuine  reductions  and 
if  so  how  those  same  articles  could  have  been  good  values  at 
the  original  prices 


THE  ETHICS  OF  ADVERTISING 


271 


It  is  quite  obvious  which  of  these  two  is  the  more  convinc- 
ing. One  simply  makes  a  big  claim,  while  the  other  gives  an 
actual  test  which  any  one  could  verify  as  a  matter  of  record. 


GREATEST  CLEARANCE  SALE 
MADISON  HAS  EVER  KNOWN 


IPrySoods,  Ready-to-Wear  Garments, ladias'  and  Gents'  Furnisiiings,^^ 


MAW  CMNMIS 


V  VHI^HWEAR 


Y»r4.WUr  S*t*llit 


mwsijMjcss 


L£ATna  MMHO 


EXTRA  SPECIAL 


iVii^nni 


j;i^V:S2!"wi  r-: 


KABOOMtSeTS 


*  aviatmn  cam 


CtmtAtN  MAT£ltlALS 


FBA  THEH  PILLOWS 


m 


FiGXJRE  115 

Implied  Misrepresentation.  This  type  of  dishonest  ad- 
vertising makes,  as  a  rule,  no  literal  misrepresentation,  but  it 
is  so  worded  that  the  unwary  reader  is  led  to  believe  some- 
thing more  than  or  something  altogether  different  from  that 
which  the  advertisement  actually  states.  Or,  it  may  state 
something  which  in  rare  instances  may  be  true,  but  which  the 
ordinary  reader  is  led  to  believe  to  be  the  usual  occurrence. 
Thus,  note  the  following  advertisement: 


272  ADVEBTISING 

GINSENG  Culture  is  the  "  Only  Way ' '  to  make  big  money  on  little 
capital.  One  acre  is  worth  $25,000,  and  yields  more  revenue  than  a 
hundred-acre  farm  with  ten  times  less  work.  You  can  take  life  easy  and 
live  in  comfort  on  the  large  income  from  a  small  garden.    Write  today. 

Another  example  of  a  different  type  of  advertising: 

WHY  NOT  BE  AN  AETIST?  Our  Graduates  are  filling  High  Sal- 
aried Positions.  Good  artists  EAEN  $25  to  $100  PER  WEEK  and  up- 
wards in  easy,  fascinating  work.  Our  courses  of  personal  hoine  instruc- 
tion by  correspondence  are  complete,  practical.  Twelve  years'  successful 
teaching.  Expert  instructors.  Superior  equipment.  Positions  ready  for 
competent  workers.    Write  for  valuable  art  book,  free. 

Another  remarkable  class  of  achievements  is  advertised  as 
follows : 

SHORTHAND  IN  30  DAYS.  We  absolutely  guarantee  to  teach 
shorthand  complete  in  thirty  days  or  refund  your  money  in  full  if  we  fail. 
You  can  learn  in  spare  time  in  your  own  home,  no  matter  where  you  live. 
No  need  to  spend  months,  as  with  old  systems.  Only  nine  characters  to 
learn  and  you  have  the  entire  English  language  at  your  absolute  com- 
mand. 

Still  another  kind  of  misleading  advertising  is  in  the  use 
of  trade  names,  such  as  Genuine  Boston  Leather,  Hudson 
Seal,  Parisian  Ivory,  and  Parisian  styles  and  importations  of 
various  kinds.  These  articles  are  not  leather  or  seal  or  ivory 
at  all,  and  the  name  does  not  directly  say  so,  but  simply  says 
Boston  leather,  etc.,  which  may  be  an  imitation  of  leather,  or 
whatever  the  article  may  be. 

Gross  Dishonesty.  R.  G.  Sharp,  chief  Post  Office  in- 
spector, stated  recently  that  *  *  Only  the  few  swindling  promot- 
ers who  were  arrested  last  year  (1911)  obtained  approxi- 
mately $77,000,000."  ^  The  chief  classes  of  fraudulent  adver- 
tising for  which  convictions  in  court  have  been  secured  are: 

Worthless  industrial  and  mining  stocks. 
Fake  land  schemes. 
Commission  merchant  swindles. 
Work  at  home  schemes. 

1.  Prlnter'a  Ink,  January  25,  1912,  p.  22. 


TEE  ETHICS  OF  ADVERTISING  273 

Fake  correspondence  schools. 

Medical  cures. 

Fake  mark-down  sales. 

Guarantees  of  salaries,  involving  the  purchase  of  a  set  of  samples. 

Here  is  an  example  of  the  last  mentioned  type  of  ad- 
vertising : 

MEN  WANTED  on  salary  and  expenses.  One  good  man  in  every 
locality  with  rig,  or  capable  of  handling  horses,  to  advertise  and  introduce 
our  new  patented  household  novelty  direct  and  to  the  trade.  No  experi- 
ence necessary.  We  lay  out  your  work  for  you;  $25  a  week  and  expenses; 
position  permanent.    Write. 

W.  A.  Jenkins  Manufacturing  Company,  London,  Ontario,  Can. 

Concerning  this  advertisement  Mr.  Samuel  Hopkins  Adams 
says : ^ 

What  more  innocent,  on  first  thought,  than,  for  example,  a  clothes- 
rack  t  Yet  it  is  through  this  humble  and  useful  contrivance  that  the 
W.  A.  Jenkins  Manufacturing  Company  conducts  its  profitable  swindle. 
Consider  the  advertisement  hereto  appended.  Could  any  offer  be  more 
explicit  of  promise?  Permanent  employment  at  $25  a  week  and  expenses, 
and  your  work  all  laid  out  for  you.  "No  experience  necessary."  Is  it 
conceivable  that  there  should  be  men  toiling  for  a  mere  pittance,  or  out 
of  work  altogether,  when  opportunity  such  as  this  sounds  its  golden  trum- 
pet-call to  a  million  households  ? 

Let  us  then  be  up  and  doing  the  well-salaried  and  inexperienced  work 
of  the  Jenkins  philanthropy.  We  write,  applying  for  the  job.  We  receive 
promptly  a  reply  flattering  to  our  hopes,  so  flattering  that  we  take  little 
heed  of  a  modest  request  for  a  $15  order  of  clothes-racks  to  begin  business 
on.  As  soon  as  we  have  ordered  the  $15  worth  of  racks,  with  cash  accom- 
panying the  order,  the  salary  contract  will  be  forthcoming.  Forward  goes 
the  $15.  Back  come  the  racks.  But  the  salary  contract?  That's  another 
matter.  To  be  sure,  there  arrives  a  document,  purporting  to  be  a  contract, 
but  proving  to  be  nothing  at  all  but  a  curio  of  pseudo-legal  crookedness. 
For  our  $15  we  have  received  a  lesson  in  experience,  and  that  is  about 
all.  Perhaps  the  racks  should  be  reckoned  on  the  credit  side;  but,  per- 
sonally, we  have  never  possessed  sufficient  apparel  to  decorate  $15  worth 
of  clothes-racks,  and  never  hope  to. 

The  Vigilance  Committee  of  the  Associated  Advertising 
Clubs  af  America  has  done  splendid  work  in  exposing  numer- 

1.  ColUer'a  Weekly,  July  24,  1909,  p.  10. 


274  ADVEBTISINO 

ous  swindles.  One  example  of  fake  medical  advertising  may 
be  quoted  from  the  lecture  prepared  under  its  auspices  by 
Mr.  Karl  E.  Murehey:* 

This  advanced  Medical  Science  outfit  is  a  type  of  the  fake  institute 
which  appears  in  the  city  where  the  graft  looks  good,  advertises  until  the 
game  gives  out,  and  then  moves  along.  This  outfit  made  its  big  play  on  a 
machine  which  they  called  the  diagraphoscope  and  with  it  they  claimed  to 
be  able  to  see  the  organs  in  the  living  subject  as  they  performed  their 
functions,  the  results  being  achieved  by  the  use  of  radium.  They  also 
claimed  a  number  of  other  wonderful  electrical  contrivances  for  diagnos- 
ing and  treating  disease. 

A  young  man  in  perfectly  good  health  was  sent  in  to  them  to  be  ex- 
amined and  when  the  diagnostician  had  looked  at  him  through  the  dia- 
graphoscope, the  faker  became  very  grave,  and  said :  ' '  You  have  a  micro- 
organism of  the  stomach  and  it  is  a  good  thing  that  you  came  to  us  when 
you  did.  If  you  had  waited  a  few  weeks  longer  it  would  have  been  too 
late;  the  only  man  who  can  cure  you  is  in  the  next  room.  I  do  not  know 
which  I  would  rather  have,  a  micro-organism  or  a  Cancer." 

The  young  man  paid  five  dollars  down  on  a  fifty-dollar  charge  and 
was  treated  with  a  weak  electrical  current  applied  to  the  back  and  the 
pit  of  the  stomach;  was  then  given  a  box  of  ugly  looking  pills,  and  a 
bottle  of  glycothymoline. 

On  this  evidence  a  warrant  was  secured  for  practicing  medicine  with- 
out a  license,  and  the  fakers  departed  early  in  the  morning  of  the  day 
set  for  their  hearing.  The  diagraphoscope  and  all  the  other  wonderful 
electrical  apparatus  was  packed  in  a  single  trunk  along  with  the  personal 
belongings  of  the  doctors.  The  diagraphoscope  was  pure  fakery.  It 
consisted  of  an  ordinary  electric  buzzer,  a  circular  tube,  containing  colored 
liquid  and  an  ordinary  photographer's  hood,  through  which  the  faker 
looked  at  the  patient  when  he  turned  on  the  buzzer  current.  There  was 
no  radium  nor  anything  else  of  a  scientific  nature  in  the  equipment.  It 
was  all  unadulterated  fake. 

Examples  of  fraudulent  advertising  could  be  multiplied 
indefinitely.  One  type  of  deception  generally  practiced  but 
not  so  generally  detected  by  the  public  consists  of  mark-down 
and  bankrupt  sales.  It  is  often  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
the  genuine  reduction  sale  at  the  end  of  the  season  and  the 
fake  reduction  sale.  (See  Figures  114  and  115.)  The  first 
conviction  under  the  new  advertising  law  in  New  York,  known 
as  Printer's  Ink  statute,  is  recorded  as  follows: 

1.  Quoted  by  permission  of  Mr.  Murchey. 


THE  ETHICS  OF  ADVERTISING  275 

Frank  G.  Gevin,  doing  business  under  the  name  of  J.  H.  Murry, 
trustee  of  the  Plymouth  Kaincoat  Company  .  .  .  last  year  advertised  a 
sale  of  raincoats  alleged  to  have  been  procured  at  a  private  sale  of  seized 
garments  by  the  U.  S.  Customs  authorities.  The  representation  was 
untrue,  and  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions  on  April  24  found  Gevin  guilty 
under  the  statute.    The  penalty  is  a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $100.i 

Evidences  of  Improvement.  While  there  is  still  a  de- 
plorable amount  of  fraudulent  advertising  sent  broadcast  over 
the  country,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  powerful  movement  on 
foot  today  which  is  determined  to  eradicate,  as  far  as  possible, 
all  dishonest  and  objectionable  advertising.  The  various 
sources  from  w^hich  this  movement  has  gained  support  and  the 
wide  extent  of  its  influence,  even  now%  are  bound  to  make 
advertising  better  and  stronger  in  the  future.  This  move- 
ment toward  genuine,  honest  advertising  is  the  most  important 
step  yet  taken  in  the  entire  history  of  advertising.  It  dates 
back  to  about  1910,  when  its  effect  began  to  be  of  considerable 
prominence,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

Some  of  the  indications  and  some  of  the  agencies  at  work 
in  this  crusade  for  honest  advertising  are  as  follows : 

1.  Improvement  in  Mediums,  (a)  in  issuing  reliable  anal- 
yses and  statements  of  circulation,  and  (b)  in  the  exclusion, 
on  the  part  of  practically  all  high  grade  mediums,  of  fraudu- 
lent or  undesirable  advertising.  Many  magazines  and  news- 
papers have  adopted  definite  standards  as  to  the  kinds  of 
advertising  they  will  not  accept.  Many  mediums  have  even 
taken  the  stand  that  they  will  vouch  for  the  responsibility  of 
the  advertisers  using  their  mediums.  Some  have  even  gone 
to  the  extent  of  forcing  irresponsible  advertisers  to  **make 
good"  their  claims.     See  chapter  on  Mediums. 

2.  Policies  of  Manufacturers.  Some  manufacturers  who 
realize  the  importance  of  truthful  advertising,  not  only  for 
themselves  but  for  all  advertisers,  notify  the  publications  to 
the  effect  that  their  advertising  must.be  accepted  only  on  the 
condition  that  it  will  not  be  placed  on  the  same  page  with 
objectionable  advertising. 

1.  Printer's  Ink,  May  4,  1911,  p.  26. 


276  ADVERTISING 

3.  The  Vigilance  Committee.  In  1912  th§  Associated  Ad- 
vertising Clubs  of  America  appointed  a  vigilance  committee 
with  a  large  membership,  distributed  all  over  the  country, 
whose  purpose  is  to  locate  the  undesirable  advertisers  and  see 
that  they  are  properly  dealt  with.  This  committee  has  done 
splendid  work  in  uplifting  the  moral  status  of  the  advertising 
business. 

4.  ''Printer's  Ink"  Statute.  Perhaps  the  most  important 
achievement  has  been  the  adoption  of  legislation  against  fraud- 
ulent advertising.  In  1911,  Printer's  Ink  caused  a  statute  to 
be  prepared  which  makes  dishonest  advertising  a  misdemeanor. 
This  statute  has  been  made  a  law,  practically  in  the  form 
devised  by  the  counsel  of  Printer's  Ink,  in  sixteen  states  up  to 
the  present  time.    The  text  of  this  statute  is  as  follows : 

Any  person,  firm,  corporation,  or  association  who,  with  intent  to 
sell  or  in  any  wise  dispose  of  merchandise,  securities,  service.  Or  anything 
offered  by  such  person,  firm,  corporation,  or  association,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, to  the  public  for  sale  or  distribution,  or  with  intent  to  increase  the 
consiunption  thereof,  or  to  induce  the  public  in  any  manner  to  enter 
into  any  obligation  relating  thereto,  or  to  acquire  title  thereto,  or  an 
interest  therein,  makes,  publishes,  disseminates,  circulates,  or  places  before 
the  public,  or  causes,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  be  made,  published,  dis- 
seminated, circulated,  or  placed  before  the  public,  in  this  state,  in  a 
newspaper  or  other  publication,  or  in  the  form  of  a  book,  notice,  handbill, 
poster,  bill,  circular,  pamphlet,  or  letter,  or  in  any  other  way,  an  adver- 
tisement of  any  sort  regarding  merchandise,  securities,  service,  or  any- 
thing so  offered  to  the  public,  which  advertisement  contains  assertions, 
representation,  or  statement  of  fact  which  is  untrue,  deceptive  or  mis- 
leading shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.i 

1.  Printer's  /nfc,  November  23,  1911,  p.  68. 


APPENDIX 

The  following  are  illustrations  of  the  different  variations 
in  the  type  faces  of  the  Cheltenham,  "family." 


6  Point  Cbelteiiliam  Bold  Condensed. 
ABCDEFGHUKLNHO  36  «bcdefshuklmiioiKintni  4t 

8  Point  Cheltenbom  Bold  Condensed. 
ABCDEFGHIKLM  30  abcdefghqklnmoprs  42 

10  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

ABCDEFGHI  24  abcdefghijklmii  33 

12  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed, 

ABCDEFGH  22  abcdefghijklo  29 

14  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

ABCDEFI 18  abcdefghij  24 

18  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

ABCDI  15abcdefg20 

24  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

ABC  12  abcde  16 

80  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

AB  10  abed  13 

36  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Condensed. 

ABSabll 

42  Point  CheltenlMun  Bold  Condensed. 

AB7ablO 


18  Point  Cheltenlmm  Bold  Condensed. 

AI6ab8 


277 


278  APPENDIX 


6  Point  Cheltenham 
ABCDEFCHUKL  26    •bcdefshiiklmiiopqata    51 

•  Point  Cheltenham 
ABCDEFGHIJ    24   abcdefgkijklmnopq  42 

10  Point  Cheltenham 

ABCDEFG  20  abcdefghijklmn  35 

U  Point  Cheltenham 

ABCDEF  18  abcdefghijkl  29 

U  Point  Cheltenham 

ABCD    1 5  abcdefghi  24 

18  Point  Cheltenham 

ABC   1 2  abcdef  20 

U  Point  Cheltenham 

AB  10  abed  16 

80  Point  Cheltenham 

AB  7  abc  13 

36  Point  Cheltenham 

AB6abl2 


M  Point  Cheltenham 


A4ab8 


AFPENDIX  279 


M'Point  Chelt«nbam 


A^'ab^ 


n  Point  Cheltenham 


A'ab 


t  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 
ABCDEFGHUK   28    abcdefghijklmiiopq  40 

8  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABCDEFGHI  24  abcdefghijklmn  33 

10  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABCDEF    19  abcdefghijk  26 

12  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABCDEF  17  abcdefghij24 

14  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABCD  14  abcdefg  20 

18  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABC  12  abcde  16 

U  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

ABC9abc  13 


280  APPENDIX 


<t  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Itallo 
ABCDEFGHUK  26    abcdefghijklmno  39 

8  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 
ABCDEFCHI  23   abcdefghijklm  3S 

10  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Itallo 

ABCDEF  18  abcdefghi  2S 

12  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 

ABCDE    16  abcdefgh  23 

U  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 

ABCD  14abcdef20 

M  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Itallo 

ABC  11  abed  16 

24  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 

AB    8abcl3 

so  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 

AB  7  ab  10 

36  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Itallo 

AS'^abS 

48  Point  Cheltenham  Bold  Italic 

A4a6 


APPENDIX  281 


so  Point  CheltenhMn  Boid 


AB7ab  11 

9«  Point  Chelteohftm  Bold 

A  6ab  9 

4S  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

A5ab7 

4»  Point  Cheltenham  Bold 

A4a  6 


60  Point  Cheltenham  BolA 


A^^a 


5 


n  Point  CheltenlUL-n  Bold 


3       4 

a 


*  KlIBrary 
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